Sonic 06 - Silver Edition
by Kuro Shiro Sama-Sama
Summary: An exercise in writing that experiments with the idea of Sonic 06 being rewritten almost entirely to make Silver the main character and to have things revolve around him, Mephiles and the Flames of Disaster known as Iblis... The story changes drastically with Silver as the protagonist. As alternate universes go, this is going to be an adventure.
1. Author Notes

So this fan fic is going to be... In a sense a writing exercise... But also a bit on the corny side.

 **If you want the full story as to how this came to be, feel free to read the author's notes. If you want to get straight to the story, skip this and head to chapter 2. That's the REAL chapter 1.**

My apologies...

This is my first time doing a chapter 1 with just author's notes but I felt it relevant because this fanfic started from an essay/thesis of mine. As a writer Sonic 06's story amazes me just due to lost potential alone. Silver and Elise get a lot of brownie points in this regard – they both could've been great should the story have been written better. The idea for this fanfic came from me doing a thesis on Elise's character and how she could've been better – think of it as a combination of Digi Valentine's "Who Dat?" series on YouTube as well as sort of a general writing workshop thing. Unfortunately this was all done in the form of an audio-only podcast thing that hasn't been posted anywhere online.

But one of the solutions discussed in a section on if you were to remove Elise from the game entirely would be to make Silver the Iblis Trigger rather than Elise, and that character would have a powerful and moving arc on his own. So basically this fanfic took that concept and rolled with it with the bonus challenge of keeping both Elise and Iblis in the story (both of which are just sort of there in the canon game. You could rewrite the story without either of them).

So what's this fanfic's goal and what will it change?

Here Silver himself is the main character – hence the title "Silver Edition"

We'll also be getting 3 or 4 story lines. Silver's would be the default story line you start a new game on, Shadow would be another story line and Blaze and Elise have somewhat meshed story lines that compare and contrast with each other fairly well. They're not going to be separated so they're all going to be written meshed together as one long story, separated by ellipses and it will be obvious when one story line has shifted to the other even when 2 stories are meshing together and shared by 2 or more characters. And we'll get 3 of those story lines segments per chapter with the exception of chapter 1.

Because this is also written as a complete rewrite of the game there are elements that are going to come off as obvious because we're already aware of what happened in the events of the Sonic 06 we got in the end. This is written as a new game entirely, new story, new save file, etc. This is essentially giving Silver his own solo title ala Shadow the Hedgehog (with 90% less edge) and placing it in the 06 universe with elements from Sonic Rush mixed in.


	2. Chapter 2: And I Dream

**Chapter 2: And I Dream**

 _I have dreams where I'm floating around in a world devastated by flames - a harsh, bleak place in eternal darkness... It's a world where people live without hope. The world is nothing but a sea of fire and a sky of shadows. And on the rare occasion where there are people in my dreams, I'll ask them how this all happened... But nobody will tell me directly._

 _They only point to the flames._

 _Every time I dream this dream there's this monster made entirely of fire. I win every time but my success means nothing. The dream resets itself. The monster is formed again. Another dream, another battle, another reset... Stopping the flames for a short time only for it to rise up from it's ashes again. Honestly, what's the point of all this? It'll never end. It's just a dream no matter how real it feels. But I wonder how it could be completely destroyed... How could the flame could permanently be snuffed out? Would it even end this long series of dreams?_

 _If only I knew the truth behind everything._

…

Something strange happened in Silver's dreams that hadn't happened before. He defeated the undying flame again, the thing even taunting him with a thumbs up as it sunk into the sea of lava again... His subconscious was teasing him no doubt. In his youth these dreams were rare, but as he grew older and into adolescence they began to happen more frequently. Then it was once a month... Once a week... and now every other day... At times he feared even going to sleep because he knew he couldn't dream of anything other than that thing and their inevitable battle, the dream resetting and their fight starting all over again...

As he stood, punching the remnants of a wall wondering why he was even here, something spoke to him... Granted there were occasionally people in these dreams, but rarely did they ever speak and never did they ever speak to him without being approached and spoken to first.

"You wish to know the truth?"

Turning around there was a new person in the dream... Unlike the others he was not charred black and red by flames. He looked similar to Silver – another hedgehog but with blue-black fur and a tuft of white fur on his chest. He looked too healthy for this dying world... And what's more was that he actually had something to say.

"Everything has an origin. Just as a flower comes from a seed or a chicken from an egg. You want to know the truth of this world, don't you?" The black hedgehog looked down at Silver from atop a small townhouse long burnt to a crisp by flames.

"I want to know why I'm having these dreams at all."

The black hedgehog laughed. "Oh if only these were mere dreams... Now do you wish to know the truth or would you like to remain blissfully unaware of the bigger picture?"

"I do want to know about them... I want to stop it... I never want to dream these things again!"

It jumped down to the ground, walking like a living corpse toward the silver hedgehog and extending it's gloved hand to the naive hedgehog. "Well?"

Silver was not so sure, stepping back a single step. "But how would I know whether or not you're even telling the truth?"

The black hedgehog closed his eyes and crossed his arms. "Because I've been looking for you for a very long time..." He knew he had Silver's interest then. "This world has been dead for a long time Silver... The people who live here are remnants of the past some years ago. And you know as well as I do that even the people who can talk or who look like they're living aren't... They can never truly live again; not after the Flames of Disaster..."

"But what are the Flames of Disaster?" Silver asked. "Is that... the thing that keeps coming back?"

"Ah yes... The Eternal Flame known as Iblis... That is the thing you put up a fight against every night. And on that subject – you are quite strong... You are strong enough to fight it and reduce it to cinders night after night but you're still too weak to smother the flame for good..."

Silver looked at this black hedgehog distraught. His subconscious was fooling him into believing there was an absolute answer for why these dreams were happening. "No... You're not real!"

The black hedgehog tilted his head to the side. "What?"

"You can't be real! You're just a figment of my imagination!"

"I can tell you I'm not lying to you day and night but actions speak volumes over speech... Allow me to give you some insurance." And out of no where, a gem appeared in the black hedgehog's hands. "Take it with you Silver."

The polished purple gemstone had an aura to it that Silver couldn't put his finger on. It was like one of the Sol Emeralds but cut differently and with much more polish.

"This is a Chaos Emerald... Should the person in possession of it be strong enough, the emerald can turn that person's thoughts into power..." He put the gem in Silver's hands. "Take it... I have more than enough power without it. This should prove that this is very much real Silver... I'd never lie to you."

"But, why trust me with something like this?"

"Because you can save the world."

Just like that Silver awoke in his bed in a cold sweat and a hand falling from his chest that didn't belong to him... And then when he looked to his left he saw that hand's owner...

Blaze would occasionally stay with him until he fell asleep but this was a first. She never ended up falling asleep next to him. It wasn't fit for a princess to be caught in the same chambers as one of her guards... And even if she did care about how she looked to her peers, she still kept to herself in general. She'd usually sneak off back to her room once Silver was fast asleep after falling asleep on his own or with the help of a sedative but on occasion she could be found sleeping alongside her knight.

No doubt she was making up for hours of lost sleep – his fault for having these nightmares and the previous evening being particularly difficult when it came to actually falling asleep. The scent of the sedative still lingered in his breath but he had no complaints. He owed her for this.

Seeing her there was simultaneously embarrassing and great beyond belief – a real friend that cat...

She was purring in her sleep indicating that she could wake up sometime soon, having better dreams than he did no doubt. But he wouldn't bother her... He didn't want to burden her with something insignificant...

Until he felt the hard stone in his right hand... The Chaos Emerald...

As much as he wanted to throw the gem across the room in disbelief and wanting to believe his dreams were dreams but just the gem appearing in his waking world gave him some form of relief...

These dreams were happening for a reason...

"That's a Chaos Emerald..." Blaze stirred awake. "Why is that in our dimension?"

Silver jumped but turned toward the cat immediately after hearing her tired voice. "Blaze... You know what this thing is?"

The lavender cat sat up, shaking her head a bit, licking her left hand and cleaning her left ear. "It's a Chaos Emerald. It's like a Sol Emerald but it's from another dimension. But how did you get your hands on one?"

He shoved the stone in Blaze's lap. "I don't want it..."

She sighed, taking the stone with both hands and holding it close to her chest. "We can't have it in this dimension anyway... When the Sol Emeralds were brought into Sonic's dimension it nearly destroyed his world and mine." getting out of the bed and walking to the door she looked back at him with an unkind glare. "Silver, I'm going to need you to come with me."

"Blaze?"

"SILVER!" She shouted in a commanding tone. "This is important. Come with me. Now..."

At the princess's command Silver followed her to her quarters. She placed the emerald on her bed, tied her lavender hair up and changed into her usual clothes behind a curtain. Sitting next to the emerald on her bed she sighed. "Lock the door so no one else disturbs us."

He did as she ordered, locking the door to her chambers.

"Now take a seat beside me."

He did as she ordered again, trying to keep his face from turning red as he sat next to the impatient and unusually unfriendly cat.

"You're going to tell me how you got this."

"In a dream."

"Your dreams?"

Blaze knew of the nightmares Silver had.

She was the one who would stay with him on the really bad nights. She was the one who woke up next to him in the morning to reassure him he wasn't stuck in a firey wasteland. She was the one he vented to about these things. But she couldn't believe that this silver hedgehog's dreams were a gateway to Sonic's dimension. She hadn't seen him in a very long time but for one's dreams to bring something as important and as powerful as a Chaos Emerald to another dimension she had never considered.

"Silver, remind me how you ended up here."

"You mean how I start working for-?"

"No... Not that. I'm talking about _that_ story - if you remember it that is."

Silver paused, mouth slightly ajar and then grumbling to himself. He was always hesitant about bringing this up especially since he lacked any important childhood memories prior to _that_ story. His dreams and amnesia were enough but telling the story of how he ended up where he had been for years before working for Blaze was complex and emotionally draining.

The only things he could recall included a vague image of an older hedgehog taking care of him at some point and waking up in an alley all alone...

If not for becoming a recruit for the army and impressing Blaze with his powers, Silver never would've gotten where he was now. He was her personal guard and her only real companion. She had no one else to socialize with otherwise. The same applied to him.

"Without you I'd be a street rat stealing to get by. Heck, I might not even be alive if it weren't for you." he found himself speaking these words but not thinking them through entirely before they came out. "Nothing has changed about that story. I don't remember anything except for waking up in that alley by myself and having to stay there for years until your family was looking for recruits."

Blaze looked disappointed."You don't remember any more than that?"

Silver felt he had disappointed her and started feeling upset with himself for not being able to give her the story she wanted to hear (whatever that was). "I'm afraid I can' really help since nothing's changed. Just a younger version of me in an alley and the occasional nightmare back when they weren't as common."

Blaze didn't smile. "But somehow you still managed to bring a Chaos Emerald to our world through your dreams..." She looked at the emerald sitting next to her. "Have you ever considered that maybe you weren't born in this world? That you might've been born somewhere else?"

"Maybe... But what are you trying to tell me? Why are you being so secretive?" he looked to his princess for a response. "I mean it's not like I doubt you or anything but-!"

"You came to me with no records of your birth, your parents, where you came from originally. You're an immigrant, not just of another kingdom, but maybe another dimension..." Blaze got up, emerald in her hand. "I need you to come with me so we can return this emerald to Sonic's world. For this to end up here... This means something very bad has happened. And unfortunately, I might not be able to handle this alone."

"Blaze, what are you talking about? Who is Sonic?"

Taking Silver's hand and placing the gem in his palm, she looked at him with a straight face. "It's a long story. But I'll tell you that another time. Right now all you need to know is that you have to come with me to get this emerald to where it actually belongs." She said in her cool and collected tone of voice, showing just how much of a noble she was.

"Blaze, please! If this is really that important shouldn't I know about who Sonic is?" Silver thought about the black hedgehog from his dream. "Just tell me what you need to tell me now. There has to be something more to all of this but I need your half of the story!"

"If my hunch is right then it'd be much easier to show you rather than tell you." she said coldly, holding the gem in her hand and looking at her reflection in the polished gem. "All you need to know about Sonic is that he'd an old friend of mine. As for why an emerald from his dimension is here has to be related to you and your dreams. And now that this _is_ here, we have a reason to go there and get to the bottom of all of this."

"So there are other people you're worrying about then? That's simple enough. Was that really so hard to tell me?" he asked of his princess even though it came off as disrespectful.

"It is considering that you're my only friend in this dimension." she uttered, recalling the memories of the friends she had made in the other dimension. Hoping and praying they were okay she tried to show no emotions, keeping her expression neutral.

Silver swallowed his fear. "If you want me to go with you, I will. Besides, I want these nightmares to end already... And if I can figure out where I came from along the way then-!"

"You're coming with me either way..." Blaze grabbed his hand and tried to smile but it was obvious that she was just trying to keep Silver calm and not have him worry about her. Internally she was screaming and confused, hoping that this was no more than a misunderstanding or some mix-up caused by the Eggman of their dimension...

For a Chaos Emerald to come to her dimension.

For Silver to wake up with it one morning.

And Silver himself.

She needed to go back.

And so they went together...

...

With the power of the Sol Emeralds Blaze transported the both of them to Sonic's dimension. She hoped to see everyone again and have everything be solved as soon as possible. She thought about seeing Cream again and having tea with her and Vanilla...

But that wasn't to be...

What was once a vast ocean was replaced by rock and lava. What used to be a blue sky was covered in black clouds that didn't allow the sun to shine through. What used to be sprawling cities filled with people were now mausoleums full of corpses that died by burning or starving to death... The really unlucky ones died being crushed under building materials as they fell out of place and collapsed or by drowning in lava. The whole city seemed like a candle that was snuffed out, the smell of smoke in the air and an overall feeling of unease or despair embedded into this world's core...

And this was no longer just a dream...

Silver looked around him in awe, feeling the hot wind blowing in his face and drying out his eyes. He didn't want it to be true but here he was, actually here. But what more was real?

He thought about the people he would occasionally talk to in his dreams, running into them by chance and trying to get answers as to why he'd have the same dream every night and wanting to know more about this world. They moved like living corpses as they vaguely answered whatever questions the hedgehog had... But to find them now should they have been real at all... No... The black hedgehog was more important.

"Silver... So this is the world you saw in your dream?" Blaze asked, looking up at the black sky. "Is this really it?"

"This is it..." Silver answered, the fact that his dreams proved to be someone else's reality sinking in. "This isn't Sonic's world is it Bla- BLAZE?!"

Blaze saw this world and collapsed, pounding on the cracked concrete under her and trying to hold back the overwhelming need to cry. What became of this dimension? What happened to Cream and Vanilla? Silver put his hand on her back, trying to get her back to her senses but all she could do was keep her head down and think about her rabbit friend...

"This is really what you've been seeing every night?" She looked at Silver, trying to avoid crying but needing confirmation. "Is this REALLY it?"

He nodded, wanting nothing more than to hug Blaze at that moment but his own anger and confusion was growing inside him and he wanted to find the black hedgehog and kick him in the teeth. But this was real after all... So he knew that hedgehog was around somewhere... "Don't cry Blaze... I know someone who can help..."

"What?" she looked at him with a venomous look in her amber eyes. "Silver..."

"The Chaos Emerald... I got it from this black hedgehog. He said it was insurance so that I knew he wasn't lying." Silver firmly grasped Blaze's shoulder. "As soon as I find him maybe he can tell me how the emerald works and he can explain what happened to this world."

"Silver, even I don't know how Sonic's dimension could've gotten so messed up... Whoever gave you that Chaos Emerald and whoever destroyed this world is-!"

And walking onto the scene with frame-perfect timing: the black hedgehog. "The Flames of Disaster..."

"You again..." Silver growled a bit, getting up and standing in front of Blaze defensively. "You're going to tell me what happened to this world!"

"And that I shall..." The black hedgehog mused. "This is another dimension that was destroyed by Iblis – that monster you fight ever night. There were those that fought against Iblis long, long ago but they all lost. One by one everyone gave to the despair caused by Iblis. That's how this world became unlivable as it is now."

"That doesn't make any sense..." Blaze said. "What happened to Sonic and the others?"

"Sonic you ask? He's the one that's responsible for summoning Iblis and making the world the way it is now!" The black hedgehog closed his eyes. "But to explain everything would take far too long..."

Flames covered Blaze's hands. "That's not true... Sonic couldn't do that..."

Silver turned around, seeing Blaze's flames licking her arms as they crawled up to her shoulders.

"You're lying!" She shouted, getting up picking the black hedgehog up by his chest fur. "Sonic couldn't destroy the world! He helped me save mine!"

"BLAZE!" Silver shouted, reaching for Blaze's arm only to get fire thrown at him.

"Silver, get away from me. This monster is playing tricks with you!" Her whole body was aflame, confused, angry, mourning and not trusting this hedgehog whatsoever. "YOU GAVE SILVER A CHAOS EMERALD! DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU COULD'VE DONE TO BOTH OF OUR WORLDS?!"

"Blaze, he's our only lead! Don't do anything reckless!"

But the black hedgehog remained calm. "It's fine. I know what's become of this world. I'm willing to show and tell you how things unfolded - this is a shock to you no doubt."

Blaze stood silent. She didn't want him to think she owned him an apology. Silver, Sonic and the others were her concern. This black hedgehog was her enemy.

But Silver looked past Blaze and at the stranger. "So what you're saying is that the reason I've been having these dreams is so that I can save this world? Is that it?!" Silver shouted, causing Blaze to visibly tremble.

"You can save it if you want... But you won't be able to do it without my help." said the black hedgehog.

"And what sort of power do you have to offer?" Blaze asked, facing the stranger and standing in front of Silver defensively – the princess becoming the brave knight defending the innocent. "And why drag Silver into this? Why give him a Chaos Emerald and get him involved?"

"I've watched him defeat Iblis night after night. I think he's strong enough to defeat Iblis permanently." The stranger spoke. "But I propose a better plan that will end Iblis and prevent this future from happening in the first place: if I transport Silver back in time before Iblis destroyed your friends' world, we could save them. Wouldn't it be nice to restore this world back to a livable state? To see your friends again?"

Blaze turned away, eyes shut and trying to ignore the world around her. How dare he use her memories of the others as a weapon against her! She needed to concentrate either by quelling the flames into cinders or blasting this fake with magma!

But Silver started speaking to the stranger without consulting her, walking toward him with that naive look in his eyes he usually had. "There are other things I want to know. Like where I came from, who my parents are, why I was the one having dreams of this dimension's future... You know about all of that, don't you?"

The stranger opened his eyes. "I do. That's why I want to help you Silver."

Silver, with the Chaos Emerald in hand took a deep breath. "Then I'm willing to listen. For my sake and Blaze's."

"Silver! Don't make such rash decisions!" Blaze pulled him back. "Just let me handle this. You don't need to help me! You can't do this!"

"Don't try stopping me. I'm helping you and finding out the truth behind everything." He looked down at the emerald. "You're going to get your friends back and I'm going to find out my purpose in all of this! We'll work together like always, just think of this as me taking Sonic's place!"

"So shall we strike a deal then?" asked the stranger.

Blaze grabbed Silver harder, clawing at his chest fur but the silver hedgehog slipped through her fingers and walked away, extending a hand to the other hedgehog.

"If I do this..." Silver gulped. "Y-You're going to help me get what I want."

"Specify what you want Silver." The black hedgehog mused.

"I want to save Blaze's friends and find out more about myself. If I save this world..." He paused. "If I do that much everyone will be happy, right?!"

Blaze looked at him with her arms crossed, trying to snuff out her flames. He didn't have to do this. He didn't need to take Sonic's place – he never even knew him! She brought him along anyway hoping that she'd have another adventure with Sonic and Cream... Poor Cream...

How she'd love to see her again, to have tea with her and play with her for however long she wanted. She didn't need to see the destruction of the world... Just the thought of Cream having to witness such horrors upset her the most. In the middle of the ash-laden wasteland she tried her hardest to avoid crying, mumbling a silent promise to her friends...

"Is that all you desire Silver?" beckoned the stranger.

"Yes... I..." He hesitated... Long had he beaten this Iblis creature in his dreams but this proved to be a link to something much larger than he was – effecting another world entirely different from the one he'd been living in. He grew too used to the comforts of Sol Dimension and long had he forgotten anything related to where he came from originally. He inhaled. "I don't have a choice."

"Is that your final answer?"

"Yeah." The wind blew harder and warmer than before. "I'M GOING TO DEFEAT IBLIS ONCE AND FOR ALL!"


	3. Chapter 3: His WorldKingdom of Soleanna

**Information in regards to where we'd be time-line wise: in terms of the 06 time line we're at a point where Sonic has rescued Elise, battled Egg Cerberus and escaped with Elise to safety. Where Shadow's story lines up with that one, he's infiltrating Eggman's White Acropolis base, getting Rouge (who has obtained the Scepter of Darkness) and from there they'd go to Kingdom Valley where they'd meet Mephiles. Sonic's story line lines up with that again and that's when the Windows Vista cut scene happens before popping right back into the middle of Soleanna in the part of town where the infamous "IT'S NO USE" fight with Silver takes place. But this time with Silver as the main character that fight doesn't happen. Other than that, the story doesn't have to rely on the 06 timeline for a while.**

 **So now that that's out of the way: next chapter!**

 **(EDIT 4/2/18: Shaun has been axed, something with two tails is alluded to, fixed some plot holes with the Solaris project, Sonic is closer to his Sonic X self and more genuine Elise moments – be them awkward or badass. Enjoy!)**

 **Chapter 3: His World and the Kingdom of Soleanna**

It was just as the stranger said... Using the emerald he gave Silver, they transported themselves back to a point where this world – Sonic's dimension – was full of life. The smell of ash was replaced with salt water and the hot, heavy winds were replaced with a cool breeze and a brilliant sun shining down upon the city. The city itself was brimming with people. An old man yelling at seagulls flying over head. A child climbing onto the roof of a townhouse. A man in a booth selling chips. An archaeologist reading books by a fountain. He was in awe of it all. This was the dimension Blaze saw in her previous adventure...

But Blaze was no where to be found...

He panicked in the middle of the city, looking around frantically for that lavender cat only to find the stranger behind him.

"Don't worry... She must have ended up in another location. But there is no need to fear." He said weakly, breathing heavier than before.

"What do you mean she's in another location? She's my friend! I need to find her as soon as possible!" Silver argued. "You're supposed to be working with me, not sending my friends in a different direction!"

"It's just as I said. You shouldn't worry Silver." He struggled to breath but fought through it. "There are a few things you might want to know about that she shouldn't be around here for."

"Like what?" Silver asked, grabbing the black hedgehog by the shoulders.

"As I said: fear not. She's close by... And there is something I'd like you to see on your own. Tell me: have you ever wondered who your parents were?"

He made Silver pause as Silver didn't remember anything about his family. He vaguely recalled an older hedgehog taking care of him but that person was nothing more than a blur. He recalled no name, no face, no location. The only thing he did recall was that the older hedgehog was male... Odd considering that male hedgehogs weren't exactly known for raising their young.

"I-I'd like to meet them... If they're still alive at this point in time." Silver mumbled, finding that the black hedgehog had suddenly disappeared. "What? Where did-?"

"Down here..." Said the voice, making Silver look down to find the figure in his shadow. "My time isn't exactly infinite... I've used up too much power by sending us back in time. I'm going to rest in your shade. Alright?"

"But why my shadow?" Silver stomped on the shadow but it didn't seem to cause the being any pain what so ever. "What are you?"

"Ah the naivete of youth... Don't worry. I'm only going to borrow it for a while until I regain some energy. The truth is that I don't remember... I remember WHO I am, but not the what..." He sighed, making Silver's shadow visibly distorted for a few seconds. "But if I have the powers and time on my hands does that not make me obligated to help someone and save the world?"

Silver thought about his words and how it related to him becoming Blaze's personal guard. He had enough power but only took up that position to survive, not because of an obligation or wanting to find a purpose in life. "Is it because we turned back time? Is that what's weakening you or-?"

"That's a story for a different day... I need to regain some of my energy..."

"Fine..."

"By the way, I forgot to tell you my name."

"And that is?"

"Shaun. Shaun the Hedgehog." He mused.

Silver thought he had to have been telling some awkward joke because he wasn't laughing nor did he believe it. "Would you mind being serious and not trying to tell me some stupid joke?"

"Stupid? Stupid how?" the shadow raised his non-existent brow.

"I mean for someone with the ability to travel through time you should have a cooler name than _Shaun_! That seems oddly mundane..."

"You think I'm cool~?" the shadow mused again, causing Silver's shade to ripple in ways as though to indicate he was flattered by such a statement. "Well, if I can't have a sense of humor, just call me Sol. Sol the Hedgehog."

"Sol, huh?" Silver tapped his chin in contemplation. _So 'Sol' like Blaze's kingdom or 'Sol' as in something else?_

The shadow – this 'Sol the Hedgehog' – decided to change the subject for his naive friend.

"At this point in time both of your parents are alive and close to this location. Wouldn't it be nice to see them? Why not get them a gift? You'll need one for your mother and your father. I'm sure they'd love to meet you Silver."

The thought of meeting his mom, his dad or even both of them at the same time made a shiver go down Silver's spine. A flash of heat suddenly hit him and made him panic. For as long as he could remember he was alone. In Blaze's dimension he was alone until he decided to become an army recruit and proved himself strong enough to go up in the ranks, catching the cat's attention. And during that time he may have thought about where he might've come from but to actually have someone who knew the names and faces...

"Don't let your missing friend discourage you from taking in the scenery on your own. Not to mention that meeting your parents should be a special event – you deserve to have that moment to yourself." said the shadow. "Living as an orphaned soldier for so long seems unbearable. You deserve to have that closure if that's something you seek."

He hesitated...

The thought of it so tempting that he could barely utter a word in response to such an offer: the promise of a family or even getting to know the names and faces he could only recall as blurs in the back of his mind from some time long ago. In that moment he could almost abandon Blaze entirely if only to search for that hope – even if the people in question weren't the idealized versions of them he had dreamed up during the nights without nightmares.

He hesitated again, swallowing his fear before asking: "I-I need names. If you know who my parents are you can tell me their names, right?"

"First we should go somewhere a little more private. You wouldn't want anyone to see you mumbling to yourself, would you?"

"I don't care. Just tell me... And where would I be at this point in time?"

"Where are you?" The stranger sighed. "Well I could tell you, but I won't. Besides. Your mom is near by and you're right here. Don't you want to get her something nice?"

"With what money?" And just as Silver motioned digging into the pockets of pants he wasn't wearing, out from under him spawned gold rings from his shadow.

"I have plenty of it. You don't owe me a penny in return." The stranger mused, watching as Silver picked up the rings from the ground. "Consider you coming on this journey through time with me it's own reward."

Struggling to carry so many rings Silver glared at his shadow, asking for assistance, a bag spawning at his feet. He could hear the shadow laughing quietly to himself as he watched Silver dump the currency into the bag before putting it on his back.

"Now if you'd quit playing games with me, I need you to tell me something else."

"I'm listening."

"How much time do we have before this 'Sonic' character destroys the world?"

"Two days give or take. Three if we're lucky. But of course we've already altered the timeline in some form. And depending on your actions you can either increase that time or decrease it." the shadow stretched itself out, forming an arrow. "Walk to the ocean over there. You should act more natural. And it wouldn't hurt for you to play tourist, now would it?"

Silver followed his shadow's instructions, walking to the ocean and resting his arms on the fence in front of him. He took in the scent of the salt water and watched boats sailing by in the distance, even waving back when he saw a sailor waving at him (or at least the general area where Silver was currently standing).

"Now, isn't this nice?" mused the shadow.

"Sure is..." mumbled Silver, sighing in content.

 _If this is really the place I've been seeing in my dreams, then I want it to stay this way..._

…

Princess Elise dreamed of her father. She was there again, in the lab, having snuck past security because of how short and stealthy she was. She was just a child, determined to see her dad as all children are when a parent was away at work for the majority of the day. At the time her father was a duke, studying something in the labs – the Solaris Project – though she was fuzzy on the details of the project or his experiments. The one thing she remembered was the explosion, her dad shielding her and a sea of fire consuming the laboratory and other fuzzy figures of people trying to put it out and rescue her and everyone inside. And afterward she remembered spending days in the castle, hooked up to life support machines and being told what had happened while trying not to cry.

She was sent to her relatives, other dukes and duchesses of duchies within Soleanna. They died once after the other. Eventually she was sent to live with the king and queen of Soleanna, who hadn't had an heir. And after their deaths she was the last remaining heir to the throne. Whispers of how she brought death to everyone became mothers' fables to convince their children to behave. The members of parliament had spent so much time and money on funerals for the dynasty that they anticipated Elise's own death to come. The conspiracy theorists thought a little girl capable of murder should've been executed, not paraded around as their new monarch.

And so while other girls her age would be making friends in school, having boyfriends, going on dates and having fun she studied numerous subjects required of a monarch.

Economics in the morning.

History in the afternoon.

The arts in the evening.

Public appearances during national tragedies and parades when required of her.

And should it be required she'd have to be a diplomat and sit at large tables with men twice or triple her age who ruled other nations beyond the sea, talking about trade deals, current events, foreign affairs, national security. Often these men would attempt to gain control over the throne by proposing marriage to the girl but she declined at every proposal. She insisted that she wanted to focus on being a good monarch and being married to the nation of Soleanna first and foremost. A husband to secure an heir would come later.

She didn't hate her life per say. Perhaps disappointed was a better word. She was disappointed by the way her life was going. Just when she was winning the favor of her people and while lighting the ceremonial torch at the Festival of the Sun the mad Doctor Eggman had to attack...

That night she was taken hostage.

She was kept in a tomb Eggman had overrun with his machines, including a dog-like robot called the Egg Cerberus. The doctor asked her for information she relay to him due to matters or national security of just not knowing what he was talking about.

"Princess, do you know your role in the Solaris Project?"

"I don't." She had spoken to him coldly.

"Oh really? You don't remember anything about the Solaris Project?"

"I don't." She repeated.

"10 years ago your father died when an experiment went awry. You were found outside of the facility nearly dead due to smoke inhalation." He spat, throwing old newspapers of the event on the floor in front of her. "You're the key to all of this Princess. You're going to help me in my experiment."

"I've already given my Chaos Emerald to someone else. You won't be getting it from me." She showed no anger, no sadness. She played the part of an emotionless doll during all negotiations.

"Oh that's no problem at all. The one you gave it to is going to show up at any minute and I'll be there to defeat him and get that emerald back." He walked out of the room. "You can do whatever you want. But if you leave this tomb you know it's impossible to escape. You would die either by one of my machines or by sinking in the sand..."

But throughout the ordeal she remained calm, emotions in check. There was no need to cry. She was too valuable a hostage to let die for the sake of information she couldn't tell him. He would have to get it out of her one way or another so the likelihood that she would be left alive was high. And thankfully she was right...

She was rescued by Sonic and an unfamiliar fox, taken back to Soleanna with Sonic fighting robots along the way and her clinging onto the hedgehog for dear life – all the action from the rescue making her desperately need that nap. And how she wished she could've slept in an entire week...

A knock on the door, one of her ladies in waiting coming in and rushing to her bedside with news. "Princess Elise, there is a government agent here to see you. They're with GUN and they'd like to ask you about your time with Doctor Eggman."

Elise sat up, head pounding. "What is the agent's name and where is their identification?"

"Here it is Princess." she was handed a wallet with a card inside. The agent was a hedgehog like Sonic, but looked older with black and red fur. Another old man to have to negotiate with no doubt.

"Thank you. I'll meet with him after taking a pain killer for my headache."

"Would you like a change of clothes Princess?"

"No. I'm already dressed and I don't want this to take longer than it has to. I need a glass of water and a pain killer and after that please let them in. We should also have some tea, coffee and other refreshments prepared for them." She ordered in an emotionless but still commanding tone.

"Yes Princess." And then the lady in waiting left to fetch Elise some medicine and a glass of water.

And it was after she left that Elise realized she forgot to ask about what happened to Sonic...

But before she could come back with medication and refreshments her questions were answered for her, seeing the blue hedgehog sitting on the window sill, making her smile instantly.

"So Shadow's here, is that it?" He asked.

"Seems like it. What were you doing there?"

"Taking a nap. You were taking one too, what else was I going to do?"

"I'm surprised the guards let you in." Elise got out of bed, walking toward the window. "It's a nice day out. Wouldn't you be more comfortable outside?"

"I can spend a few hours inside without getting stir crazy. Don't worry so much." Sonic rubbed his nose a bit. "How are you feeling?"

She wanted to go back to sleep and not have to deal with government agents asking her the exact same questions Eggman had asked and then some. "I'm fine."

"You don't seem fine."

She placed a hand on the glass. "I want to go outside. I'd rather not deal with Agent Shadow at the moment. I don't really want to deal with anybody today really..." Elise put her head against the glass, eyes closed, knowing she had to let this pass for the sake of doing her duty.

"Shadow's a tough guy but he's not that scary. He just pretends to be so he can look cool."

"You know him, Sonic?" Elise asked, looking at the blue hedgehog who was completely relaxed, hands behind his head and leaning against the window.

"We have some history together, but yeah. Don't stress yourself out too much." He gave her a thumbs up. "The more you stress out about it, the harder it'll be to talk to people."

"Is that so?" She opened the window, letting the salty air rush into the room and suddenly recalling the fox from before. "On the subject of people, what happened to your friend?"

"You mean Tails? He's busy working on his planes and machines as usual." thinking back on it, Sonic smirked a bit. "It still worked out fine though: if not for our plane being in need or repair, I wouldn't have been able to help you out!"

Immediately the thought of a tiny creature like that fox working on something as massive as a plane both impressed and frightened the human princess. A plane crash landing somewhere in the city would've been reported to her meaning it had to have ended up somewhere far away from civilization or there was a plane of some sort drifting in the ocean like a lazy bird letting the waves carry it along. Even if it did end up somewhere on the edge of the city, having to deal with a downed plan was an issue that would need to be handled by local authorities, only going to the future queen if the local authorities decided to give it to the courts and the courts couldn't decide what to do about a plane belonging to a fox and a hedgehog.

And on the other hand, the timing of events that brought the hedgehog hero here seemed like a blessing though she hid her joy behind a neutral expression – cold and calculating every little thing that had happened over the past few days while looking out of the window.

"Maybe we could meet with Agent Shadow on one of the balconies or in the garden? It seems like a better alternative to this stuffy room-."

Another voice cut in. "That won't be necessary, Princess." and in the doorway stood the lady in waiting with refreshments (including the pain killer and glass of water Elise requested) and a black hedgehog about half the woman's height.

"Agent Shadow I presume?" She turned to him and asked, bowing her head slightly to show respect even though it was improper of her to do so.

"Yes Princess, we have quite a lot to discuss..."

…

Blaze found herself in Sonic's dimension. She knew it was so because of the difference in atmosphere compared to her own. In a flash of light and shadows she remembered trying to hold Silver's hand but he escaped her grasp. She could remember the feeling of his chest fur in her hands and how soft and fluffy it was. She missed him already.

But the princess and guardian of the Sol Emeralds couldn't let herself cry or get too discouraged. She had three missions: Find Sonic. Find Silver. Save the world. And even if she couldn't find Sonic and Silver, she wouldn't let this dimension fall into a fire-filled spiral of doom and despair. Seeing this world in that state made her realize what horrors Silver endured every night. She didn't want him to suffer. And she wouldn't let Cream see it either...

But separated from Silver she walked along Wave Ocean trying to find out any information related to the black hedgehog who refused to give her and Silver his name. She only had a description to go on. But no matter how many people she asked about him, no one knew who or what she was even talking about, making the cat feel disheartened and mislead.

Silver was so naive...

Though perhaps she too was naive, thinking that such a creature would be known to the locals in this dimension. It wasn't as though a hedgehog with the ability to manipulate time was an everyday occurrence and while inter-dimensional play upstarted by super villains was a very real possibility she'd never met someone of her kind to do the same and even then none were as dark, brooding or suspicious as the strange that urged Silver to come here.

She sat by the ocean watching killer whales jump wildly in the distance. "Really Silver... You should've just let me handle everything on my own." She spoke to herself, thinking about her silver companion. "I've already been to this dimension. This should be my problem. You should just stay out of it. I'm just trying to protect you..." her right hand, in the sand and gripping onto the loose grains suddenly lit up, turning the sand in her hand into a large glass ball immediately.

"Damn it..."

She threw the glass ball into the ocean. She couldn't afford to lose control of her fire powers when Silver was somewhere in the world lost and possibly alone. She'd rather have him be alone and waiting for her return rather than having that black hedgehog talk him into doing something stupid. She didn't like that guy. To give Silver a Chaos Emerald without explaining the implications of taking one to another dimension was plain irresponsible.

He had to have another agenda. She knew he wanted something with Silver, manipulating him by saying he'd be a hero for saving the world and the fact she was here hadn't been accounted for. It was Silver he wanted. She was just additional baggage that likely didn't fit into whatever plan behind his reasons for bringing Silver here...

While it was Sonic's world in need of saving and her interest in this world caused her to act the way she did, she was still rightfully upset with Silver for acting so suddenly without consulting her. She would've told him more about her time here should he asked then and there but he didn't... That black hedgehog tempted him with the dream of being a hero...

Flames began to lick her entire body. "That black hedgehog is going to pay for this... I'm not going to let ANYONE manipulate Silver like that!" And when glass started to form from where she sit, she stood up, walking toward the water in an attempt to extinguish herself but even the water couldn't quell her flames.

Inhaling and exhaling in a certain pattern to try calming herself, she waited for nature to do it's job yet the flames kept burning. And the longer it took the angrier she got with herself and her situation which only made the flames burn hotter and larger, making her a living bonfire standing in the ocean.

And then she heard footsteps coming from behind her as well as something sliding in the sand. She turned around instantly, a ferocious look in her eyes and ready to pounce like a wild cat.

"Blaze?! What are you doing here?" No threat, just Amy with her hammer...

"Amy?" Blaze stumbled through the water, flames instantly going out and Amy meeting her half way to help her walk back to shore.

Amy smiled, walking Blaze (clothes heavy with ocean water) to the sand, her hammer in the other hand. "I didn't know you were here! You should've sent a postcard!"

"I'm not here for fun, Amy. I'm here for something very serious." Blaze sat down on the glass throne she unintentionally made for herself previously.

"Something serious?"

"It's urgent. Do you know where Sonic is by any chance?"

"I was actually looking for him just now! My Sonic-radar tells me he was here!" Amy smiled – she hadn't changed. Though Blaze thought back on what the stranger said about Sonic destroying the world and she wondered if Amy could tell if anything was wrong with Sonic. Even if she was love struck, he was still her paramour with a keen eye for people's feelings. Of course she'd know if anything was wrong with him – she'd probably be the first to tell out of all of their friends!

"Amy, do you know if Sonic has been acting strangely lately?"

"Oh he'll never change. He hasn't acted out of the ordinary at all. Why do you ask?"

"Are you positive?" the cat hesitated to ask.

"Positive! I mean, the only 'strange' thing that's happened was us coming here – but that's just because Tails' plane had to make an emergency landing in the mountains. But, you know Sonic! He loves to travel!"

Blaze looked away, ashamed of the glass she'd formed during her fiery fit of rage and scratched her head. "Do you think you can help me find him? I need to meet with him for something important."

Amy nodded, grabbing Blaze's hand and smiling. "We'll find him. He's got to be somewhere. I'll help you! Once you find him I'm sure he can help you with whatever problem you have!"

"I appreciate it..." Blaze stood up. "So what does your 'Sonic-radar' tell you?"

 **Chapter end**


	4. Chapter 4: Humble Beginnings

**Some mass-edits were made from chapter 1 (the authors notes), to chapter 2 (the actual chapter 1) and this. Just saying so that you don't get a weird case of deja vu. Fanfiction . net is a bit flawed in terms of informing an audience when chapters are updated, as only new chapters are given a notification, not existing ones. So to let you know that the story was updated I actually had to delete the previous chapters and replace them with new ones. BASICALLY I confess that I got carried away in the opening author's notes to those have been shortened (this fanfic did come from the result of what was essentially an essay so that's totally my fault, I can admit that), Chapter 1: And I Dream was edited slightly, Chapter 2: His World and the Kingdom of Soleanna got an upgrade and some parts swapped out with THIS chapter, so if you get deja vu that's my editing at work. That's the end of the fiction service announcement. Enjoy Silver Edition.**

Chapter 3: Humble Beginnings

While Sonic sat in the open window of Elise's bedroom and looked out at the ocean, Elise herself was seated in a leather chair beside Shadow – a government agent sent to Soleanna on a mission to thwart Eggman's latest scheme. Rouge had screwed up on their mission and broke the Scepter of Darkness that she stole from Eggman's base at White Acropolis, awakening the thing sealed inside of it.

Mephiles was it's name, taking Shadow's form or at least a pale imitation of Shadow's form. He spoke of an ironic fate that Shadow didn't know anything about, alarmed that the being even recalled his name. But rather than starting a fight with him or Rouge he disappeared as soon as he appeared.

But regardless of this Mephiles character Doctor Eggman still gave them the information they needed. He planned on using the Scepter of Darkness – with Mephiles sealed inside to revive the Solaris Project. And to do that he needed Elise's Chaos Emerald as well as in information she had on the power of Iblis and the project her father died in...

The princess however was not one for conversation.

She'd already explained a great deal of what her experience with Eggman was like, discussed what had happened at the Festival of the Sun (including some talk of seeing a white hedgehog) and confirmed information that Shadow had already been briefed on at GUN head quarters. When it came to other questions she remained calm, silent and completely in control - simply drinking tea in a comfy leather chair and taking long, deep breaths and eyes closed as a phonograph played records of nothing but classical music and orchestral scores.

"Princess, I've already proven to you that I'm an agent at GUN. It wouldn't be right to withhold information I need from me when it could endanger not only your life, but the fate of your nation." that was Shadow's attempt at trying to sound nice and diplomatic. "Did Eggman tell you anything else during your time in the desert?"

She opened her eyes, placing the tea cup on the small plate she held in her hands. "No."

Finally a word out of the girl. "Nice to hear you speak Princess."

But just as soon as he got a word out of her, she withdrew into herself again, putting the tea cup on the silver tray atop the coffee table and taking a cookie out of the cookie tin, popping the small snack into her mouth and chewing as though Shadow wasn't there at all.

"Princess if you don't cooperate with me I'm-."

"Not going to do anything." Said Sonic, intent on not being any help in getting Elise to talk. Hearing the blue hedgehog come to her defense got the princess to smile which was more than Shadow could accomplish and he'd been trying to get her to talk for an entire hour.

"I've just come back after being abducted by Eggman. I'd prefer some time alone." She spoke. "Besides, the information you're asking of me I couldn't even tell Eggman. I don't remember the incident 10 years ago. I only know what I was told. And you already know that."

"Just give up Shadow. You won't be able to get anymore than that." Sonic taunted him. Shadow was a damn agent for the government and here was this blue hedgehog with no job telling him how to do his!

"Would you prefer talking to a female GUN agent then?" Shadow asked, hoping Rouge would come back without wearing handcuffs for bracelets. The jewelry-obsessed bat couldn't control herself in Elise's room, going absolutely gaga over the diamond jewelry Elise owned. He'd sent Rouge out on an unnecessary errand just so she wouldn't be hung for snatching a diamond right or the very necklace Elise wore around her neck. "My fellow agent should be coming back soon."

And as if on-command Rouge flew in through the window. "My my, I see you haven't made any progress Shady~. That's too bad."

"Don't taunt me Rouge."

"Well I see you're getting nowhere with the princess so here's a new approach you should try: why not take it outside?" Rouge asked, glancing over at Sonic. "I'm sure the blue knight over here would agree. You won't get anywhere keeping her in a cage like this."

Sonic simply gave a thumbs up and a look of gratitude at Rouge.

"Well princess?" Rouge asked with a tilt of the head. "Wouldn't you agree?"

Elise nodded her head, smiling a bit. "Thank you Agent Rouge. I'll be heading to the balcony on the north wing of the castle then."

"Not without an escort hun." Rouge yanked Sonic's arm, causing the blue hedgehog to get off of his lazy butt and be a more active agent in his surroundings. "He's going with you, just in case. We'll catch up with you shortly."

"I understand." Elise left the room, followed by Sonic who closed the door on the way out.

And once the two agents were alone Rouge smacked the black and red hedgehog upside the head. "And what in the world is wrong with you? You had no idea how to handle this. What's more you send me out on a fools errand just so you can get me out of the way!"

"But is it the errand that's foolish or the fool who does the errand?" Shadow taunted, receiving another smack and then getting his right ear pinched.

"Listen you, whatever you're upset about you need to get over it."

"It's about this mission... And Mephiles too" Shadow answered. "He knew my name and asked me if I remembered him. That's been bothering me since we left Kingdom Valley. The Solaris Project won't come to fruition without Mephiles in the picture."

"It is odd that he did just up and leave without even a hello." Rouge walked back to the window Sonic was sitting at and closed it shut. "Suppose Mephiles is still around just hiding in plain sight?"

"And what gives you that idea?"

"I saw someone that caught my eye. There was this white hedgehog looking at the ocean that had a huge tuft of fur on his chest just like yours. Reminded me a lot of you~." Rouge giggled to herself, looking back at Shadow. "It was then I realized you sent me away just to kick me out of the castle and then I flew back here."

Shadow sighed. "Your point?"

"My point is that Mephiles seems to have it in for you for some reason so why wouldn't someone that hates you so much hide in plain sight?" She walked to the chair Elise was sitting in and sat down, one leg over the other, one hand on her hip and the other supporting her chin with her elbow on the arm of the chair. "I'm curious as to why or how Mephiles even knew your name. Talked about you like an old friend, but he plays absolutely no part in Space Colony Arc and if he were on friendlier terms with Eggman, then the good doctor wouldn't have fled."

Shadow contemplated her words silently before sighing. "Do you think you can run an actual errand for me this time?"

"And what would that be?"

"Keep an eye out for that white hedgehog."

"And Princess Elise?"

"We... _I_ can't get anywhere with her... I'd appreciate if you talked to her for me but I'm not sure how far we can push her for information on the incident 10 years ago. I already asked everything I could ask."

"I _could_ help and try to lighten the mood with some girl talk _but~._ " She giggled to herself. "Ah how it pays to be young and in love~."'

"You're kidding..."

She got up, walking to the door with a mischievous smile on her face. "If you want to talk to her you better hurry~."

…

He played tourist around town with the shadow beneath him as a semi-reliable guide.

He's been shown the city square, good places to eat, the ocean, the ports, the canals, the shops, the many bells and fountains and on the way a few locals asked if they could pet him to which he declined.

It was fun but then Silver found himself in front of Soleanna castle – or as close as a simple tourist could get. His shadow seemed to purr and delight at being anywhere near the castle.

"This is Soleanna Castle. It's where the monarch lives. Isn't it a wonder of the world?" the stranger asked.

"I've seen castles before. It's just a different setting, different dimension..." Silver smiled regardless. This world was a beautiful one, one worth protecting from it's firey doom. "This is nice but you've still yet to tell me what I needed to know."

This creature laying about in his shadow didn't seem to like giving him direct answers. He still had no name to attach to him – not believing for a minute that 'Shaun' was his actual name. He could tell that this creature – whatever his name may be – was starting to sense the lack of trust.

"Silver, if I told you your parents were nearby, would you believe me?" the stranger asked.

"You told me my mom was by the ocean before and then we missed her. You're telling me they're here now?"

"Both of them are in the area. Tell me: did you think of a gift to get for the both of them?"

"You haven't told me a thing about either of them so I wouldn't know what to get."

"Well, there's a reason for that. As much as I would like to reunite a child with parents he never knew, I'm purposely leaving out a few details so you don't... worry too much..."

Silver felt a chill go down his spine, quills moving accordingly and pointing upwards at the ends. "You told me my parents were alive..."

"They're alive... But they too play an important role in how this world turned into the one you saw before. We need to make sure they survive too. We wouldn't want Sonic getting too close to either of them."

"But Blaze said Sonic was a friend of hers..."

"He's going to destroy this world, as well as your parents." the stranger smirked. "She's a mysterious one that cat. Does she always hide secrets from you?"

Silver didn't answer because he genuinely didn't know. Blaze usually kept to herself and though they talked often and spent time together due to proximity there was no way of knowing how much of her life she still kept a secret from him. "I'd rather not think of Blaze as someone who-."

"You think she doesn't trust you? I mean why else would she hide the fact she's been to another world before?"

"She... She probably just didn't want me to-?"

"She's been to another world and made friends that weren't you. You don't think that's suspicious?"

Another chill, causing Silver to gulp and suddenly feel frozen despite the perfectly warm climate. "I think I should rest. I should go back, maybe to that plaza?"

"You should go directly to the castle Silver."

"That's a castle with a living monarch and guards inside. They're not going to let me just walk on inside. It's not like I'm with Blaze back home. I can do whatever I want there."

"Sonic is inside that castle Silver..."

That name again. This Sonic character seemed important but what role did he play? He was supposed to be Blaze's friend but he would also destroy the world in two days time. He didn't understand it. As much as he wanted to save this world for his sake and Blaze's he was filled with more questions than answers .

"If I go in there... If I see Sonic..."

"Yes~?" Asked the shadow.

"I... I-I need to ask him everything he knows about Blaze..." Silver muttered to himself. Thinking about it he felt like he was betrayed a bit. She never told him anything about this world, but she was just as horrified as he was seeing it turn into a world of fire and ashes. She cared about this world as well as the people in it. It was normal, noble but concerned him regardless.

It made him think back to the strangers in his dreams. Occasionally he could get a word out of them, getting different stories from each of them, none of how the world got the way that it did but there were a few of note that gave each person a personality to the point where he gave them nicknames to correspond to those stories. He would tell those stories to Blaze and she'd brush them off as just being apart of his nightmares and told him that everything would be okay. But she didn't share his dreams.  
No... He couldn't blame Blaze for not telling him absolutely everything. How could she have known his world – Sonic's world – and the world from his dreams were one in the same?

"Silver, you're hesitating. Are you going to go inside the castle or not?!"

Silver snapped back to his senses. "Oh... Well..."

A different shadow loomed over him, causing him to look up and see pink.

There stood a white bat girl with purple wings and a black cat suit with a pink heart on the bust. She smiled and waved "Hi."

"Um..." Silver hesitated. He didn't anticipate someone else finding him in front of the castle. "I-I'm sorry, did you want me for something?"

She kept smiling, seeming friendly though a little suspicious just due to the timing. "Well this might seem brazen of me but you actually remind me of someone I know. I was just curious if whether or not there was a connection between the two of you~."

"Um... Okay?"

"Are you a tourist too?" She had a deep but still feminine voice. It was obvious she was an older woman. She sounded both intimidating and friendly as she grilled him with random questions out of no where but at the same time he couldn't exactly ignore her... Something about the bat girl caught his eye, but he didn't know what it was...

"Well..." He hesitated but inhaled deeply and confessed: "I'm actually looking for a friend I got separated from. I don't know where she ended up. See, she's this cat with lavender fur and a jewel on her head. You really can't miss her."

"Sad to hear you two got separated but I'll keep an eye out for any cat girls~." The bat smiled. "Who should I say is looking for her?"

"Um... S-Silver... And you-?"

"Name's Rouge." She gave him her hand and he shook it. Taking her hand back she swept back her hair in a way an older woman would to keep a man's attention. "So where do you think your little friend might've run off to?"

He found himself hesitating in front of Rouge. He only ever acted this way when he felt shy or embarrassed around Blaze. "Thing is that I don't know... This is actually my first time coming to Soleanna..."

Thinking the woman would ridicule him or think he was stupid he withdrew within himself but the woman kept that same smile on her face. "Haven't a clue, huh?" She pat him on the back, making him feel like a child. "Well I'll keep an eye out for that cat girl friend of yours but~." She started walking off, compelling Silver to follow her and forget about infiltrating the castle.

"But what?!"

"Well, I guess I'd like to know more about you first." She told him while they walked away from the castle. "Not exactly common for our kind to wander around. This island is mostly human after all."

Oh... that was the reason... "Well, it's still pretty to look at."

"It is~ But I guess I crave the finer things in life. The adventure is fine and all but I guess I have a calling somewhere else. You ever get like that kid?"

"Well... I am searching for a few things..." He was still hesitating but yet he found it so easy to talk to her. Even if he didn't want to say anything he had to say something to keep her attention. He didn't want to disappoint nor did he want to risk loosing a lead to finding Blaze or something more...

He couldn't exactly rely on the shadowy black hedgehog for everything after all.

"Tell me, what parts of Soleanna haven't you seen so far?" She asked.

"I haven't seen much outside the city."

"Then that gives us a reason to go together."

"What? You really mean that?" He stopped in place, blushing, embarrassed, flattered and also wondering why the bat took such a sudden interest in him. "I mean I appreciate it but-."

"It'll be fine Silver." She was completely calm and collected but Silver was internally melting into a puddle of mush. Her saying his name also sounded eerily familiar and alien but also calming...

He pouted a bit, looking at the ground and the shadow hedgehog's disappointed eyes. But Silver stepped on the shadow, bugging the figure hiding in it. Silver inhaled, exhaled and managed to make eye contact with Rouge again.

"You really want to go with me?"

She looked back at him, realizing he'd stopped walking with her. "Well I don't see why not~ Two heads are better than one, right? Besides..."

At that moment Rouge lost herself. She'd spotted Silver near the water just watching boats and seagulls go by when Shadow had sent her out on her fool's errand – something about fetching some local delicacy from a restaurant that didn't exist. Now her mission was to keep tabs on this silver hedgehog while Shadow himself watched Elise and Omega dug up information on Mephiles in the desert. And thankfully Silver was friendly and didn't seem to want to cause her too much trouble.

"I want to help you Silver. You seem like you might need it." She said. "Why don't I help you find your friend? What did you say her name was?"

"Blaze." Silver said immediately. "Blaze the Cat. Lavender fur, white muzzle, wearing purple, jewel on her head, really-!"

"Actually that name sounds somewhat familiar to me." Rouge wondered if she heard it somewhere before but couldn't remember where. Maybe it was something Amy or Sonic mentioned in a conversation at one point? She shook her head, grabbing Silver's arm. "Alright, my curiosity is peaked so we're heading to Wave Ocean."

And so they went.

…

"So you really don't get out of the castle much huh?" Sonic asked, sitting on a tree stump in the castle gardens as Elise knelt in front of a bed of poppies.

"Not really. Not unless it's something important." She hadn't seen the gardens at the castle since she was a child. Since her father's death she spent most of her time inside with tutors in all of the subjects a monarch should know. While other children played with friends in the school yard she was studying trade and economics. While other girls started getting boyfriends, she was making diplomatic decisions with old men from parliament and from countries oceans away.

And here she was Princess Elise The Third, the last remaining heir to the throne of Soleanna. One day she'd become queen, be married and produce an heir and live the rest of her life in the confines of this castle. It was a fate she'd already submitted to. It was her duty as a monarch. But while a monarch being kidnapped was nothing to be happy about and such an action could result in the execution of Eggman should the guards take him in to custody, the fact was that she enjoyed seeing parts of the world – her own country – that she hadn't seen before except in photographs, history books and newspapers.

Thinking about it, she owed Sonic a lot but wouldn't know how to pay him back. He was more interested in running around or staying in one place. Giving him a title or a position at the castle would be meaningless. But then again she was a princess... The mindset she was raised in wasn't one she could escape so she couldn't think of much outside of trying to be a figurehead for a dying monarchy. She's offer to show him some amazing sight or landmark but she didn't know of anything outside of Soleanna nor did she think anything in the city would satisfy the hedgehog's sense of adventure.

"Sonic, what brought you to Solenna?" She asked, not looking away from the poppies.

"I like traveling the world. This is one place I haven't been to yet. Then when I saw Eggman rain on your parade I had to step in." He explained. He always played hero to those in need. That was just who he was. And there was no way he could avoid a fight with Eggman when the old man was just asking for another defeat.

"I see... It's funny how things lined up then..." She smiled weakly, looking at the blue hedgehog. "Doctor Eggman wants to awaken the Flames of Disaster. I know he's not going to go away peacefully. But Soleanna's military won't be enough to stop him and his machines."

"Well, I guess things lined up perfectly after all. I've got nothing to do and Eggman deserves a nice kick in the head." Sonic smiled.

"That's why Agent Shadow is here too... To protect me and my kingdom in turn. Though..."

Sonic looked at her with a tilt to the head and a curious expression.

"I'm not really used to it. Having so many outsiders interested in Soleanna's affairs and myself especially. I mean I'm used to dealing with politicians from foreign lands, I've even had to decline marriage proposals from other kings, princes and dukes but..." She paused, getting off of the ground and stumbling a bit due to her heels.

"You ok?"

"I'm fine." She replied. "See? You just proved my point."

"Which is?"

"I'm just not used to having people pay so much attention to me outside of being the princess of Soleanna. Then again, being the one closest to Iblis isn't that fun either." Her expression changed to something neutral but still obviously upset.

Her father's dying order was for her to be strong and not cry. Crying wouldn't help her in any situation – especially with the creature known as Iblis sealed inside of her. It was explained to her after waking up connected to an oxygen tank, tubes in her nose to help her breathe. Not only had she been the sole survivor of the explosion in her father's lab but she had the Flames of Disaster sealed inside of her so it wouldn't cause any more destruction.

Why her father or Iblis itself thought it was a good idea to have a child as the host to something that could destroy the world crossed her mind from time to time – but humans were flawed, as were gods at times. It was another burden she had to bare for the sake of her nation.

That was a question she'd neglected and forgotten to ask Eggman while he held her hostage...

The question of being able to separate her from Iblis permanently.

As far as she knew the only way to release the beast was to cry but if Eggman had a way of extracting Iblis from her then that could be an achievement all on it's own if he wasn't trying to obtain Iblis' power to take over the world.

"It' be unwise to ask considering his goals... But if Eggman can get rid of Iblis for good..."

"If that's what you were going to ask Eggman, then the answer is no." Shadow appeared on the scene. "But if you're wondering how far he is in his plans, the answer is that he encountered a few major setbacks. He's no where near his goal unless he gets his hands on a single Chaos Emerald. And even then it's not as though he can access all of it's power."

Both hedgehogs took out the emeralds in their possession. Shadow with the green emerald and Sonic with the deep blue one – Elise's emerald.

"It's good to know he's faced such a large set back. Though should he come back I know I'll be his target. I couldn't give him the information he wanted nor release Iblis." She sat down on a bench, legs crossed like a lady of power.

"Agent Roue and I infiltrated Eggman's base at White Acropolis and destroyed half of the progress he was making on his work. As you know, he's trying to awaken the Flames of Disaster. Argent Rouge managed to be rid of the other crucial part he needed besides your cooperation. Unfortunately we have no idea where that other part went."

Sonic got up, offering his seat on the tree stump to Shadow. "So what you're saying is that whatever you and Eggman were after got away."

"That's one way of saying it – but I'd prefer to say that it seemed to have another goal that didn't want anything to do with Eggman or myself..." Shadow sighed in discontent, avoiding taking a seat at Sonic's behest. "I'll give you this piece of advice: be careful who you talk to Princess. Agent Rouge as well as a third agent on our team have been dispatched to look for this other crucial piece of Eggman's plan but-."

"Since I'm closest to Iblis, I have to stay here..." Elise completed his sentence of him. "That's how it always is. It's nothing I'm not used to already."

"I've been tasked with keeping an eye on you and being your bodyguard until Eggman has been dealt with. And I'm sure Sonic over here has no qualms about assisting in that task." Shadow shot a look at Sonic that made a chill go down the blue hedgehog's spine. "Agent Omega is investigating the matter on his own terms and I sent Agent Rouge out to investigate the white hedgehog you discussed earlier in the day."

"The white hedgehog?" Elise's interest was peaked. At the Festival of The Sun she could've sworn she saw a white hedgehog instead of a blue one. It peaked her curiosity, but brushed it off as her eyesight playing tricks on her. "He really exists?"

"According to Agent Rouge there was one in town today."

 _So that was real after all?_ Elise thought, part of her panicking but the other half relieved that investigations were taking place to see if it was actually real.

She inhaled deeply. "I've decided what I wanted to do for the rest of the day."

"And that would be?" Shadow asked, dreading what was to come.

With two bodyguards she saw no need to restrict herself to the castle. Taking a deep breath and a smile forming on her face, she proposed: "I won't let my kingdom fall into that mad doctor's hands. So I've decided that I'd like to accompany you to find the other half of Eggman's plan that got away, as well as the white hedgehog."

Sonic looked at her with a look that indicated he was happy and confused while Shadow looked aggravated and willing to risk assassinating her and being given a death sentence – it was nothing any bodyguard wanted to hear out of the last heir to an almost dead dynasty.

"I may also have to plan a public announcement for the people – just to tell them that I'm fine and the actions the army and GUN agents present on the island are taking to thwart the doctor's plans."

"Princess if I-."

"Elise..."

Shadow scoffed. "You're a princess. It's not something you can escape."

But her stern expression returned. "If we're going to be working closely, I suggest calling me by my name and not my title."

Shadow was not enjoying this assignment one bit... "Very well Princess..."

Her smile returned. "I know my safety is important to Soleanna but that's exactly why I want to go. There I things I need to know that I can only get from the doctor directly... There are plenty of things I can't get by staying cooped up in a castle..."

Shadow stood silent.

Sonic on the other hand... "Aw come on Shadow, if she wants to go let her go."

The damn blue hedgehog... Always trying to get in the way...

"You lead the way?" Sonic looked up at Elise, extending a hand and being a good 'knight'.

"Very well."

And off they went, leaving Shadow to loathe his job.

 **Chapter 3 end**


	5. Chapter 5: A Silvery Haze

**This chapter contains Rouge being adorable, emotionally attentive Amy, a splash of tsundere and confused Blaze and Silver just being a sweetheart. Enjoy that. Update took forever due to IRL bull shenanigans so sorry about that.**

 **Amy might seem a little OP in this chapter but she IS the most balanced character out of the original 4 main characters (Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and herself) and canonically speaking she's almost as fast as Sonic (after Shadow I'd say). Where are the boys each specialize in one trait (Sonic with speed, Tails with intelligence and Knuckles with strength) Amy is a good balance of all four and she's had those traits for a long time. They're just sort of overshadowed by her love of Sonic (her Boom self is a lot better at showing her being a balanced character in my opinion.)**

 **In Sonic 06 she's the absolute worst playable character due to her flawed invisibility, her hammer animations being slow and clunky, her feeling super slow, etc. So if I were to rewrite/code 06 I would give a play style resembling a mix of Sonic and Shadow – have her be almost as fast as Sonic but give her plenty of things to beat up like Shadow, which is what I hope to portray in action scenes with the character.**

 **With that said, I hope I write Modern Amy alright.**

 **This chapter also contains me trying to write more action scenes in general so I hope this practice will help me improve on that. I can imagine them in my head but I suck at describing them.**

Chapter 4: A Silvery Haze

Blaze and Amy fought droves of Eggman's robots at Wave Ocean. They came out of no where and just when Blaze was finally going to track down Silver too... Needless to say she was not happy. Amy took care of the smaller robots with just her hammer and sheer force of will and determination while Blaze walked by them stoically, without any emotion whatsoever, lighting the machines on fire and walking past them calmly as they exploded once the flames reached their batteries.

Amy pounded her hammer into a crab-shaped robot when she noticed Blaze far off in the distance. "BLAZE, WAIT! YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE YOU'RE GOING!"

But Blaze paid no mind. "Silver's probably all alone. He's too naive. He must be so lonely." She walked past a robot prepared to fire a missile at her but simply set it on fire. "I need to save him... From that MONSTER."

"BLAZE WATCH OUT!" And right in front of her was Amy, running toward an incoming missile, smacking it with her hammer and sending it back where it came from. And seeing this feat made Blaze snap out of it with the last robot defeated – hoist by it's own petard in the form of being blown up by it's own missile.

"Amy? What was I doing?"

"YOU WERE BEING RECKLESS IS WHAT YOU WERE DOING!" Dropping her hammer Amy shook Blaze by the shoulders. "You could've done something stupid! You could've hurt yourself! It's not like you can find Sonic if you get hurt or die!"

Blaze looked down at the ground, ashamed and embarrassed. "It's not just Sonic I'm looking for..."

"You could've said that from the beginning Blaze!" Amy scolded the cat, hammer on her shoulder and tapping her foot impatiently.

"I'm sorry... I just didn't want to trouble anyone... He's my responsibility anyway. It's partially my fault for him coming here – I couldn't stop him from going." Blaze crossed her arms, looking down at the ground and avoiding Amy's stare at all costs. "It's a long story..."

Amy thought about her having these types of moments with Sonic, but how she solved those was just by catching up to him and talking to him about what was going on or they'd team up against a larger threat and solve the issue that way. The way Blaze's nervous tone, the staring down at the ground, the crossed arms, the fact she lit herself on fire and was so concerned about finding Sonic... To Amy it sounded like Blaze found herself a boyfriend and there was a chance he could've been trying to find Sonic.

At this thought the pink hedgehog smiled. "I understand. You're just worried about someone you love, it's a natural feeling. Don't be ashamed or afraid of it."

"I-It's not that... He's just a friend... And I don't know if he's going to trust me now. I kept my coming to this dimension in the past a secret from him. I thought he was better off not knowing but he's so naive!" Blaze's hands caught on fire. "I swear when I find him I might punch him in the head for going without me!"

"I can help with that. BUT: before punching someone you should try talking to them about how you're feeling first. I'm sure he's a nice guy – he was probably just worried about you and wanted to know if you were okay. Who knows! He could be jealous of Sonic~." Amy winked. "But don't worry, I'll reassure him that Sonic is mine so he can have you all to himself without feeling like he has a rival."

"Amy... Really, it's got nothing to do with that." _Seriously..._

"Well, friend or boyfriend, the best thing to do is just confront him about how things actually happened and tell him it'll be okay." Amy kept that smile on her face. "Just think about all the things you want to tell him on the way there. We'll find him. I'm certain of it." And then Amy put her hammer away and started stretching.

"What are you doing?" Blaze asked, flames going out instantly.

"Well, if you think your boyfriend might hurt Sonic then I'm going to have to show you a new ability of mine!" Amy continued to stretch her arms and legs.

"New ability?"

"See, I'm learning how to run as fast as Sonic does! How else am I going to keep up with him?"

 _Interesting... I didn't think she'd go that far but this isn't something that wouldn't fit her personality._ Blaze smiled a bit. "So that explains the exercise."

"Mhm~" Amy flexed in a cute, girlish way. "So we'll make a run for it before any more of Eggman's goons try to come after us. Just follow my lead."

And after getting a bit of a start, Amy started running almost as fast as Sonic with Blaze following close behind. They weaved over and under docks and piers and past greenery and trees that could assault them with coconuts and into a dark cave connected to the ocean – a canal it seemed. And at the end of the tunnel was a light, sounds of people and boats in the distance. Grabbing Blaze's hand Amy managed to run over the water to the pier, throwing Blaze up on the fence with the cat lifting her up once Amy came to a sudden stop that could've resulted in destroying the pier and getting covered in concrete if she stopped a second too late.

And afterward Amy was beat, sitting on the ground and slumping over, breathing hard.

"You okay?"

"I'll be fine, but I did good right?" Amy asked, looking up at Blaze with her hand on her chest and still trying to catch her breath.

"You did great. But right now you need your rest. Try not to talk and steady your breathing. Breathe in for three seconds and breathe out for three seconds. It helps your body relax." Blaze breathed in and out in that pattern to show Amy what to do and she followed.

And about a minute later Amy stood up, causing Blaze to ask: "So what do your instincts tell you?"

"Sonic's probably playing tourist or resting on a roof somewhere. We'll work together. I know you're in a hurry but you should take this time to think about what you want to say to your boyfriend!"

 _He's not my boyfriend but she isn't wrong..._ "Alright. I'll try being patient. Take your time too, if you need to rest from all that running tell me immediately."

"Got it! So let me do my thing and find Sonic for you!"

And off the hedgehog went, the cat following a few steps behind.

...

Silver followed Rouge everywhere she went, even if that meant stopping for a whole 10 minutes so she could gawk at displays in jewelry stores. She'd pull him up to the window, tell him all about gemstones and their symbolic meanings, comment on the color and guess the karat size of each gem just by looking at them. She learned so hard against the window she got a few looks from men (furry and human alike) when her chest was pressed against the glass in an attempt to get a better look at a piece of jewelry.

And unfortunately for him she stopped at yet another jewelry store to gawk at a display of loose gemstones, pulling Silver to the window yet again.

"What do find so interesting about this display?" He asked, getting annoyed but not annoyed enough to pull her away from the store (not that he could because he did try once or twice before and he couldn't get yank Rouge away from the displays).

She pointed at the loose gemstones, all of them polished with some carved into small shapes and others being tumbled stones arranged in such a way to make a landscape. "This is the first time I've seen so many loose gemstones on display! Aren't they gorgeous?" She squeed, smiling contently and admiring the display and how perfectly the stones were laid out to look like a hilltop by a river covered in flowers made of hundreds of tiny carefully carved gems.

Silver could see his shadow quiver beneath him but he didn't pay it any mind, just thinking of a way to get Rouge away from the window.

"I knew Soleanna was known for their machines but I didn't realize they had so many cute jewelry stores and boutiques~ I'm really beginning to love this place, aren't you Sterling~?"

"I-It's Silver..."

Rouge smiled and giggled a bit, looking at the silver hedgehog. "Well, Sterling Silver sounds cuter in my opinion."

Immediately Silver's face turned red. No one called him cute. Not even Blaze. The most he got out of Blaze was 'you're a really good friend' but she never told him he was cute or attractive at all.

"Well I'm joking but..." She paused. "Actually why don't you get something for your friend?"

"I-I think finding her is more important than... Um..."

Rouge got a kick out of seeing him get embarrassed. He was obviously young and she had a hunch he had a thing for this cat friend of his so if he chose to she wouldn't mind going in with him to help him buy something. "I can help you pick something out."

Silver felt something crawling up his back and whispering into his ear "Go on, accept the invitation. Besides, we were going to get something for your mother and father too, weren't we?"

But Rouge didn't seem to hear it. "You seem nervous Sterling~."

Silver smiled like the dork that he was. "I'm just not used to someone paying so much attention to me..." He would've said 'I'm not used to an older woman paying attention to me', but he felt like he would've received a slap to the face for mentioning anything related to age.

Rouge stood there awaiting an explanation. "Go on..."

"I was living in the gutter until Blaze helped me out." Silver looked at the ground, blushing a bit, getting sentimental just by uttering Blaze's name. "She didn't want me to come to Soleanna at all... I feel like I got her mixed up in a whole lot of nothing. I'd want to make it up to her if I can, I just don't know how or where to start. I just hope I haven't lost her forever..."

And then he felt something being pressed against his eye before being pulled into a hug he didn't feel like he deserved.

"You shouldn't cry over something like that."

"W-What? Rouge, what-?"

Without knowing why, Rouge hugged Silver harder. "You're a nice boy. I'm sure your friend will forgive you. You don't seem like the type to lie." When she let go of him she found herself crying, but not knowing why...

"Rouge, you okay?" Silver immediately panicked, feeling guilty and upset seeing someone get so worked up over him.

And then Rouge touched her face and looked at her glove, stained with tears."Wait a minute, when was I crying?" She smiled through it awkwardly. "How random... I don't know how it happened."

"D-Did I say something wrong?" Silver asked, Rouge wiping her eyes with the back of her gloves but her eyes continued to leak. "I-I'll make it up to you. Just wait out here okay?"

And a few minutes of Silver being inside the jewelry store all by himself passed, Rouge sitting on a bench outside and hiding her shameful expression under the shade of an awning.

She felt stupid – crying for no reason – it wasn't normal. And it's never happened to her before. She didn't know why it was happening now or what could've triggered it. It was random and somewhat frightening.

Turning on the communicator on her cuff she tried to get a hold of Shadow.

"Shadow, are you there?"

"Rouge? You sound like a babbling brook. Is something wrong?"

"N-Nothing... It's nothing. I don't know why but out of nowhere my eyes-."

"What about the white hedgehog? Any developments on that?"

"He seems like a nice boy. Why did you ask me to watch him?"

"The princess mentioned seeing a white hedgehog during the Festival of the Sun. I thought it would be best to address those concerns and see if it was the same person. Try pestering him about that night, see if he knows anything."

"How are you holding up?"

"... I uh... I'd rather not talk about it..." Shadow grunted and she could feel his aggravation through the communicator. "Just don't be too surprised if we run into each other. Just keep the white hedgehog distracted. I don't want the princess running into him. She's been hard enough to deal with already."

"You're talking in a rather brazen tone~ Got a few minutes away from the princess?"

"More hiding in a phone booth while Sonic tries to act cool and keep the girl occupied. We're in a plaza in the town square. Lots of chairs, tables, umbrellas, can't miss it."

"Oh~? Sounds like the fool's errand you sent me on earlier."

"Only this time the local delicacy actually does exist and the princess requested it... So I don't have a choice."

"In that case, pick some up for me, won't you? I'll keep Silver dis-."

"Silver?"

"The white hedgehog has a name. It's Silver. He's a nice boy, but just in case I'll keep tabs on him and keep him company. Good luck Shady~."

"Alright... Feel better..." And Shadow hung up, Rouge turning off her communicator afterward.

She sighed, eyes still watering but now she was calm and content. Apparently this was just randomly happening. It had never happened before. She had talked with Shadow and felt slightly better but the mystery as to why the tears happened in the first place was still unanswered...

Silver in the meantime was walking through the store and admiring all of the displays as Rouge was, trying to find something that would make an older woman happy. He'd settled on a bag of assorted tumbled gemstones like the ones in the window until he saw a pair of elaborate pins in the shape of bat wings which caused him to smile in his usual dorky way.

"You're certainly taking your sweet time..." Whispered the stranger.

"Well I don't want other people knowing you're there. I'm surprised Rouge couldn't hear you. Don't bats have really good hearing?" Silver whispered, trying not to catch the attention of the store owner doing paperwork at the counter.

"It's not something to worry too much about. I'm actually curious about something: have you remembered anything from your childhood?" The stranger asked.

"I have actually. Just a little." The white hedgehog took the bat wing pins off of their display. "But I'm not going to tell you right now."

"Cheeky child... But you do have an obligation – you made a woman cry. You need to fix that."

"I know, that's why I'm not telling you what I remembered now." And after a very awkward experience with the cashier he went back out, finding Rouge sitting on the bench and sat next to her.

"Oh Sterling, you came back... You alright?" Rouge asked, eyes still watering and her having to smudge her eye shadow on her gloves when she wiped her eyes.

"I'm fine. I was worried about if I hurt you so I got you something." And he put the bag of tumbled gemstones in her lap.

"You didn't have to but I appreciate the thought." Rouge was touched but part of her questioned how Silver was able to buy what he did. He had this little backpack on his back but it looked completely empty. "Really Sterling, I'll be fine. I might just need some eye drops or something."

Silver scooted away a few inches. "I just thought I said something wrong or hurt you in some way. I don't really know anything about what girls like so-." He felt a hand on his quills and blushed heavily.

Rouge gave him a look of complete understanding and her eyes were starting to look better, no longer red with tears. "You don't need to explain everything. You've done more than enough." She scratched his quills, watching attempt to curl up into a ball. Sweet kid. Shy, but nice overall.

The shadow under Silver's feet simply mused, quivering in Silver's shade as the white hedgehog tried to resist the urge to melt into a puddle of fur and quills on the bench.

"Come to think of it, do you even have a place to stay while you're on the island?" Rouge asked out of compliance with Shadow's request as well as out of worry for the scatter-brained white hedgehog. "If we don't find Blaze tonight you need to tell me where you're staying so I can tell her where to find you."

He hadn't thought about lodging in the slightest, the shadow having crawled onto along his back now at attention. "Uh... Actually no..."

He felt a chill when the shadow whispered: "You've forgotten we had a mission. Finding that cat friend of yours is fine but what about Sonic?"

But Silver didn't reply to his shadow, telling Rouge "I have a lot of things on my mind. I'll figure that stuff out later. Besides-."

"You're so naive..." She said in a tone like Blaze. "In all seriousness, this has been fun but it's not like I can take you home with me."

Before Silver could ask why not, she continued.

"I'm not trying to get rid of you. I just need to know you're going to be okay. So let me at least get you a place to stay the night. We got a deal?"

"That sounds okay... But..." He felt his shadow move beneath him. "Can we just do that sort of thing later?"

"Tell her we need to find Sonic Silver." ordered the shadow.

"I-It's just that there's so much more we can do on the island! There's still a lot I want to see. Things I want to find..." He hesitated. "I-It's not just Blaze I'm looking for. There's more to it than that."

He had her attention. "What else are you looking for?"

He felt a lump form in his throat that was hard to swallow. He needed her to stay. He needed to find Blaze. He needed to appease the angry shadow nipping at his quills. "I'm looking for where I came from."

"Silver, get to the point! You need to find Sonic!" The shadow scolded, yelling in Silver's ear only for Rouge not to notice him whatsoever as though the shadow were invisible.

"Silver you-."

"If I can't find that then I don't know what I'd do with myself... I just feel like things are going to turn out bad if I don't." He knew he had her attention but he was no longer saying these things to get her to stay. He meant it. He was shaking. He rested his head on his knees and wanted to hide from the world. "If I can't do that then what am I even doing here?"

At that moment he just wanted to go to back to the Sol Dimension and wake up from a long night of sleep and pretend that this was all a dream. He wanted to wake up next to Blaze and eat breakfast with her and accompany her around the castle.

And then a nudge to the shoulder. "Silver, don't worry about it so much." She tucked the small bag away in her bra and stood up. "I won't leave you until you find what you're looking for, alright?"

And feeling like a child confessing a mistake he made to his parent he wasn't used to having, he sniffled and hid behind his knees, looking at Rouge while trying to avoid eye contact with her at the same time. "You mean it?"

"I mean it, but I still don't want my adorable little Sterling Silver sleeping on the streets. I'm getting you a place to stay whether you like it or not." She rubbed his quills again, watching his expression change from sad and mopey to embarrassed but still happy. He reminded her of Shadow in that aspect – he was a grouch but he had his moments.

"So... What now?"

She puffed her chest out a bit, crossing her arms. "Well I'm going to make some reservations for the two of us and you're going to come with me. After that we can look for your friend and maybe a little more about where you came from. Sound like a plan?"

"Ask her about Sonic..." growled the shadow.

But Silver sighed, mouthing out 'I got this' under his breath. "Sounds okay." And quiet enough for no human ears to hear he uttered. "and when we get there you can see the thing I got you..."

…

Shadow got out of the phone booth he took refuge in to get away from Sonic's foolishness when talking to the princess. He had no idea how much she meant to the nation as a whole – treating her like a normal girl. If he was going to play body guard he needed to play the role more seriously. As soon as he could meet with Rouge he'd beg to trade places with her or at least have her take Sonic's place.

And that white hedgehog... According to Rouge he was just a 'nice boy' but he knew there was a deeper meaning to all of this. As such he didn't want to risk Elise confronting this other hedgehog on her own. The farther Rouge could keep him away from Elise the better. His life was in this human girl's hands whether he liked it or not...

He closed the door of the phone booth and sat at the table where Elise and Sonic were currently sitting, eating the local delicacy Shadow thought he had made up in order to prevent Rouge from getting executed from stealing a monarch's jewelry.

"Welcome back Agent Shadow." Elise tilted her head at Shadow to show him respect. Then she picked up a spoon and delicately dug into the confection: an ice cream dish with multiple layers all held together with a shell made of frosting.

"Right... So what is this?"

"Ice cream. I didn't know what you'd like, but assuming you're a coffee person I think you'll like my selection." She seemed sincere about it, taking tiny bites of her dish and trying not to make a mess on the plate.

Sonic in the meantime sat there awkwardly, having already eaten his dessert like the hog he was – not even bothering to wait until all were at the table. His arms were crossed and leaning back, looking at the sky out from under the umbrella. "Hey, does anyone get the feeling that something is coming?"

While Shadow attempted to break a coffee-colored frozen shell around the frozen dessert he asked. "What are you talking about?"

"I just have this weird feeling that we're going to be ambushed... But I don't think it's anything we can't handle." He gave a half-enthusiastic thumbs up to try keeping positive but even Sonic has his doubts.

"You shouldn't mention things like that so casually in public. Think about who you're talking to."

"No, it's not like I'm talking about Eggman. It's something else... I just feel uneasy about it."

Elise merely observed something moving in the distance while the two hedgehogs talked among themselves. And then she noticed a pink blur getting closer and a lavender blur following close behind and even closer as Sonic and Shadow's simple talking turned into an argument about nothing and she quickly stood up, hiding behind Shadow where he sit and watching Sonic get tackled onto the ground by...

"SONIC!" another hedgehog? Elise couldn't tell right off the bat but it was a female creature who was happy to see the blue hedgehog, wrestling him to the ground and holding him in what looked like a hug/choke hold hybrid.

"Is... she going to be an issue?" Elise hesitantly asked Shadow, who finally got a bite of the espresso and chocolate dessert she ordered for him.

And after swallowing Shadow cleared his throat. "This happens to him all the time. You get used to it."

"AMY, GET OFF!"

"I'VE BEEN LOOKING EVERYWHERE FOR YOU!"

Elise just stood behind Shadow watching the pink hedgehog hug Sonic into submission, kissing his face and snuggling against him. She felt envious of Sonic for having someone care about him so much and envious of the pink one for being able to wear her emotions on her sleeve.

"Amy please. Not in public, you're causing a scene!"

"Well I missed you!" She squeaked a bit.

Sonic's faced turned slightly red. "Don't we all know that..."

Amy stood up, dusting off her dress. "Well I rushed over here for something important!"

Elise was tempted to make what she thought was a clever retort but she declined.

Shadow spoke for her in her stead. "And what would that be Amy?"

"I brought a friend." And on cue Blaze arrived, seeing Sonic and instantly feeling relieved and then seeing Shadow and feeling a sense of dread.

"Blaze? What are you doing here?" Sonic asked, walking to Blaze only for her to cross her arms and avoid eye contact with everyone there.

"You. I came to see you over something important." She shot a look at Shadow. "I don't think we've had the pleasure of meeting before."

Shadow pushed his dessert aside, getting up from where he sat and walking to Blaze. "We haven't." Still the black hedgehog looked remarkably like the stranger who convinced Silver to come to this dimension. The only difference was that this hedgehog was black and red while the other looked more blue-black or blue-gray in comparison with blue streaks. "May I have your name?"

"Blaze. Blaze the Cat. You?"

"Shadow. Shadow the Hedgehog."

"You don't happen to know a silver hedgehog do you?"

Sonic cut in. "Blaze, what are you talking about? Why did you come here?"

"Not now Sonic." Blaze hissed, watching Amy cling to the blue hedgehog's arm.

"She's looking for someone important Sonic." Amy felt uneasy herself. Blaze said she was looking for someone as well as her blue beau but now Blaze seemed like she had a fight to pick with Shadow. She tugged on his arm whispering "Why don't we leave them alone?"

"Actually that doesn't sound like a bad idea..." He whispered back, walking with Amy in whatever direction she deemed most appropriate to get away from the other pair.

"Tell me if you know him." demanded Blaze.

"A silver hedgehog? You mean the white one at the festival?" Elise spoke, still standing where she was when Amy tackled Sonic. "I don't know it it's the same person you're talking about but I've seen one..."

"Ah yes, that mysterious white hedgehog you mentioned. Are you a friend of his Blaze? Would you mind telling us more about him? I've heard a lot about this character but I've yet to meet him face to face." Shadow said with his usual stoic expression.

"So you don't know anything about Silver?" the cat grit her teeth. They looked similar, they felt different but right now this was a lead she needed to pursue. "You're really saying you don't know anything about him?"

"If you have a problem with one of my guards, then go about your business." said Elise, slamming a gloved hand on the table and catching Shadow's attention. "I don't want any more trouble in my kingdom. If it's a fight you want then-."

Then the cat's hands caught on fire.

Standing in front of Elise defensively Shadow growled. "Elise, go after Sonic. I'll take care of this."

"But Shadow-!"

"GO NOW!" Shadow pushed Elise away, demanding she run as the cat's whole body was consumed by flames, alarming tourists and locals who saw them.

Blaze stood stoically, flames completely under her control. "I need to know the truth about what's going on here."

"Well so do I, and right now all I see is a pyromaniac pussycat trying to cause a scene!" He sent a chaos spear in her direction only for her to dodge."You play a role in all of this too. What connection do you have to that white hedgehog and why is he on the island? Are you trying to murder the princess?"

"The only reason I'm here is to get my friend back and to save this world!" Blaze sprayed fire at him only for him to teleport behind her and kick her in the back, sending her flying and making her flames go out almost instantly upon impact with a building a long ways away.

"What about the world?" He asked after teleporting next to her where she lay.

She had flown into a wall, putting a nice cat-sized crater and some scorch marks in the building and coughing as she tried to sit up. "This world is going to be consumed by flames!"

"The only way I see it going up in flames is if I let Eggman have his way... But now I have YOU to deal with." He stomped on her tail. "I've never met you before, I don't know you, I don't know what side you're on and I certainly don't know how you know Sonic or what you have to do with that white hedgehog people keep going on about. So give me a straight story and tell me what I need to know."

Shadow took one of his inhibitors off, letting it fall to the ground with a cling.

Blaze scoffed. "Funny you say you don't know me. You look nearly identical to someone who tricked that 'white hedgehog' into coming here."

"What are you even talking about?" Shadow picked her up by her collar. "You're making this harder than it needs to be."

"You have no right to treat Silver and I like this..." She grabbed his arm, lighting her palm on fire and burning him, smelling the singed fur as he let her go for that small window of time – enough for her to run away.

Shadow turned on his communicator "Rouge, it's an emergency. Where are you?"

"I can hear it. You need reinforcement?"

"If you see a purple cat, apprehend her immediately. But be warned, she seems to have abilities related to fire so be careful."

"Gotcha. I'm headed toward that area now. Are Sonic and Elise still near by?"

"I sent Elise to go find Sonic so she should be safe provided we don't get a visit from Eggman." Shadow also recalled Sonic leaving with Amy, meaning even more backup. "If Amy is tagging along with them, the princesses' safety isn't a big concern. What IS concerning is that that cat knows something about that white hedgehog. Things could get dangerous if either of them make contact with the princess so find that cat and get more information out of that other hedgehog. I don't care what, as long as it's useful!" He started running in the direction Blaze ran off in.

"You pursuing her now?"

"Of course I am!"

"I'll be your eye in the sky then. Just let me take care of Silver."

 _That name again. This Silver Is causing me a whole lot of problems. He's making me really hate my job._ "You know since he's involved with this pyromaniac I think it's a safe bet to take both of them into custody. But if this cat has powers I don't know what this Silver character is capable of so stay on your guard."

Rouge puffed out her chest, feeling offended on Silver's behalf. He was currently trying to organize something in his backpack on a bench a few feet away, leaving him unable to hear the talk over the communicator. "My Sterling couldn't hurt a fly!"

"Rouge, don't tell me you..."

"I'll handle it... But he's just a kid so I have an obligation to-."

"Obligation to what? For all you know he could be a terrorist Rouge!"

"Well if you're talking about taking him into custody we need to-."

Rouge got cut off by a voice Shadow didn't recognize. It sounded like a voice stuck halfway in between puberty and adulthood and then as Shadow ran over a bridge he saw them on another bridge parallel to his position... Rouge and the white hedgehog next to her and he could hear their conversation. "Is everything okay?"

"It's fine Silver, trouble at work is all. I might need to leave you alone for a bit."

And Shadow yelled into his communicator. "HE'S NOT GOING ANYWHERE!"

Silver saw the black hedgehog across the way, Rouge standing in front of him defensively, yelling into her wrist. "I can handle this Shadow, just keep pursuing that-." She cut herself off so Silver wouldn't worry.

"Is the town in danger or something?" Silver asked, obviously panicked enough as it was without realizing Blaze was a target of a dangerous government agent capable of manipulating Chaos.

Rouge bit her lip. "I didn't want you to get mixed up in all this but it seems like things weren't meant to work out that way. After I settle this I'm going to need to ask you a few questions."

"I'll tell you whatever you want but..." Silver started glowing blue, catching Rouge's attention. "I'm not going to let that guy hurt you."

Shadow teleported behind Silver. "Oh is that so?"

Silver backed away, the glow around him not fading. "Rouge, I can do this. Just get out of here!"

"Rouge if you get out of here I'm going to assume you've become his accomplice..." Shadow growled. "None of this can be a coincidence. You're here to awaken the Flames of Disaster, aren't you?" Shadow looked at Silver with a look of vitriol.

Silver inhaled sharply, floating up off the ground and onto the roof of a nearby townhouse forgetting that the black hedgehog could teleport and getting trapped in a choke hold. "G-GET OUT OF HERE!"

"Why do you care so much about Rouge? You made her get attached to you... She thinks you're innocent in all of this but I'm not buying it." Shadow held Silver's hands behind his back, noticing the gold cuffs and feeling a disturbing sense of familiarity that made him uneasy. But never the less he focused – Silver was suspicious. He forced him in his knees. "Fess up. You do not want to mess with me when I'm angry. Tell me what connection you have to that cat! Why is the world going to be consumed by the Flames of Disaster?!"

"Flames of Disaster?" Silver smiled weakly. "Ironic... I don't want the world to be consumed by flames I'm-."

Shadow choked him harder. "You're going to tell me once I take you into custody. Those details shouldn't be discussed in public." He loosened his grip enough for Silver to gasp for the air his lungs starved for.

"No."

"No?"

"Not until you promise not to hurt Rouge..." Silver gasped. "Please... She's cried enough..."

Shadow let go of Silver's neck, still holding his hands behind his back so he couldn't escape. "My intention wasn't to hurt Agent Rouge but the fact you're so attached to her is rubbing me the wrong way. What did you do to her?"

"Don't talk about her like that!" Silver spat. "Take me to jail if you want but if you hurt her I'll-."

"You're really trying to threaten me?" Shadow started glowing red. "Chaos..."

Silver made the both of them glow a bright, blinding blue and lifted them both in the air above the canal and before Shadow could even say the word 'control' or 'blast' they fell into the water as if dragged in by an unknown emissary.

 **Chapter 4 end**


	6. Chapter 5: Sol and Soleanna

**In this chapter we have Silver acting adorable and I'm gonna highlight Elise here a lot. Not only does she have a growing army of hedgehogs but this is going to be a major example of her and Blaze sort of being one in the same come in.**

 **I made it a point in my original essay/thesis that if you wanted to solve issues with 06's story (by scrapping Elise's character entirely) you could just use Blaze. It would expand upon Blaze's character and sure it might make her lore a bit more confusing but 06 is considered non-canon anyway and the continuity in the comics isn't considered canon either. Not to mention that Rush came out a year or so prior so this would've given Blaze fans more time with her that didn't seem so pointless.**

 **BUT because I am challenging myself to write this elseworld sort of story while keeping "undesirable" or functionally meaningless characters like Elise and Iblis, we get to see them interact! It's also nice writing a character who got her potential thrown out the window with some courage and things to do!**

Chapter 5: Sol and Soleanna

While under water Silver remembered someone he'd occasionally encounter in his dreams of this dimension covered in flames. He would sometimes meet people in the flame-stained landscape but they looked charred to crisps and never showed their faces. They couldn't have been real. Perhaps just illusions of the dream. But since the dream proved to be reality or a reality that could've happened he wondered if they were projections or ghosts of people left behind.

He remembered a particular one – an old man he only ever saw the charred, charcoal-colored and chalky arms of under a large red sheet singed by embers. The sheet hid everything else but the arms and gloved hands.

"I've lost everything to these flames." He would say. "You're still young. Don't waste your time with someone as old and abused as I am. How are you even still alive? How haven't you been burned by the Flames of Disaster?"

Silver said he didn't know, often waiting for the fiery creature who haunted his dreams to rise up from it's ashes again to fight it once again.

"Don't spend your time with an old man like me." The hand would gesture toward the hellscape. "You shouldn't get close to me. I'm already dead. You still have some fight left in you. This world is long dead but if you can defeat that beast then there might be some hope of restoring it after all... Or maybe my age is making me delusional."

Silver didn't ever recall having a father in the traditional sense but the old man from the dream had an old dad vibe about him that made Silver feel calm – even happy. He'd try to fish stories out of the old man's brain but got very little between all the talk of old age and how Silver shouldn't waste his time talking to him and the advice of 'not to grow old'.

And then Silver opened his eyes and remembered he was underwater, accidentally opening his mouth and flying up to the surface and breathing every once of oxygen he could.

"Silver, what did you do to Shadow?" He heard Rouge ask in a panicked and serious tone of voice.

 _I did something to-? OH..._ "I got this." He went back underwater, finding Shadow at the bottom of the river being held down by something that looked like thick, black and purple clouds of smoke.

"I just knocked him out. He won't be bothering us for a while." The stranger mused.

But unable to talk Silver just looked at the shadows with a disappointed glare, swimming to the black and red hedgehog pinned down and unconscious underneath the clouds of smoke.

"None of that went according to plan. From what I overheard your little cat friend was starting trouble, attacked this hedgehog and the princess of this kingdom. We have reasons to be suspicious of her Silver..."

 _When we get back on land, you're telling me more about what you are._

He released Shadow from the thick shadowy substance keeping him underwater and flew back up to the surface again, holding Shadow up using his psychokinesis. And then he gasped for air so hard he began coughing.

Rouge was gone... He was hoping he'd see her but she was no where in sight and it seemed like everyone who decided today was a good day to go out had left. But to his surprise there were no police or guards in the vicinity either.

"You need to tell me what's going on." Silver growled, watching the shadowy creature get out of the water and crawl along the fences that prevented people from falling in the canals. "Why did you think it was a good idea to drag ME in the water?!"

"I couldn't have you dying on me Silver. I just knocked him out to buy us more time. He's a real hard-ass that hedgehog."

"How do I know you weren't trying to get me killed?! Or trying to kill him and framing me for murder?!" Silver splashed in the shadow's direction.

"I could never do something like that to you Silver. Not when we're agreed to save this world from the Flames of Disaster – from IBLIS! In just 3 days he's going to destroy the world. And we still haven't gotten anywhere close to Sonic. And then there's that one..." The shadow pointed to Shadow – still unconscious and head being held above the water with Silver's psychokinesis.

"I overreacted. I just didn't want him to hurt Rouge. She's been so nice to me. She was trying to help me find Blaze."

"I know Silver. You're a caring person. Doting over someone you just met as if they were a long-time friend. You're rather quick to get attached to people."

Silver gave him a look. "It's not like I have any other leads. I don't even know your name!"

The shadow mused. "Well I confess my name isn't actually Shaun. What a foolish name that is. The fact I chose such a name makes me nauseous."

"I guessed that earlier." Silver facepalmed. "Give me your actual name. Or at least a nickname I can use – something that isn't 'Shaun'."

The shadow laughed. "Fine fine. You want my name? It's M-." And then he sunk down into the water again, reattaching himself to Silver's shadow. "Remain calm and stay quiet..."

Shadow was stirring awake, unable to move his arms and legs due to psychokinesis holding his limbs hostage while his head was free to move, breathe and speak. "Silver, right?"

"Y-Yeah...?"

"Get me the hell out of the water and back to Argent Rouge." And then the communicator started ringing under the water which caused him to growl in agitation. "Give me control of my hand you punk..."

Silver did so, allowing Shadow to answer the call.

"Shadow? Are you alright?" Both hedgehogs exclaimed Rouge's name but in two very different tones of voice. She continued. "Thank goodness you haven't killed each other. I went to get a doctor when I saw you weren't coming up Shadow. And you were so brave going to get him Sterling~."

Shadow looked back at Silver with a menacing and even jealous look while Silver smiled like a dork.

"Well, we did just cause a disturbance which wasn't the plan... While we do need to pursue that cat for questioning, we'll also have to question you Silver."

"Damn right." Shadow scoffed. "You and that cat have something to do with the Flames of Disaster."

"Cat? What does Blaze have to do with you being so angry?!" Silver asked, hearing Rouge giggle on the other end a bit which helped keep him somewhat calm despite the old, angry hedgehog giving him a death glare.

"That cat attacked me!" Shadow shouted. "For all I knew she was some terrorist trying to kill Princess Elise."

"Blaze would never! She's not like that! She didn't even want to come here! She's only here because I was being selfish and stupid."

"Young and stupid: terrific combination!"

"Both of you quit arguing and meet me at a place called Hotel Romana. Not too far off from that plaza you mentioned Shadow. I was on my way here to get Silver a place to sleep for the night but then this mess happened."

"YOU WERE GOING TO GET THIS BRAT A HOTEL ROOM?" Shadow shouted, face red and embarrassed for Rouge more than himself – considering the age difference that wouldn't have looked good for her even with a GUN badge in hand. The then there was the thought of Silver doing anything to Rouge or vice versa which disgusted him on a personal level...

"Well I wasn't going to let my Sterling sleep in the streets!"

"AND QUIT CALLING HIM THAT!"

"I-It's not like I mind..." Silver couldn't help smiling at the nickname and at Rouge's interactions with Shadow. He wondered how Blaze would treat him right now. He thought about the beating she could give him and how it would leave him sore and singed for weeks. He wanted to see her and get everything straightened out. He needed to apologize, take her home, put this behind them and have tea together.

He lifted him and Shadow out of the water and back onto the bridge, releasing him from the psychokinetic hold.

"About time. I'd teleport us there but we're going to take the long way... You owe me answers kid." Shadow groaned. "Rouge, we're on our way. Book a room for three; a queen and twin size bed is fine, a king size and twin is ideal."

He could almost hear Rouge's ears perk up on the other end. "Oh? You wanna stay with lil' ol me? Oh Shady~."

"Shut up Rouge." He hung up.

Silver in the meantime couldn't help but snicker, wanting to call Shadow 'Shady' as Rouge did but knowing he'd get punched in the stomach or kicked in the head for doing so.

"Quit your snickering. She calls me that to get under my skin – like she's trying to crawl in there to make me soft. I assume that's what this 'sterling' nickname of yours is." Shadow cringed. "You still owe me an explanation. Let's start from the beginning, shall we?"

Silver sighed. "You really wanna know the whole story then... Fine. I'll tell you in my own words." Silver put a hand over his wet chest fur, sopping wet and no longer floofy. "I came here from another dimension because this dimension is going to be destroyed in about 3 days give or take."

Shadow began walking with Silver following behind, leaving trails of water behind them.

"What do you know about the Flames of Disaster?"

"All I know is that it's going to destroy the world in a few days. It's not pretty."

"That can't be all. What about that cat?"

"She wants to save this world from Iblis as much as I do. She has her motives and I have mine I guess. For me there's more to it than just playing hero."

"Another thing..."

"What's the matter?"

"The bracelets. Who gave those to you?" Shadow asked, surprising Silver for bringing up something so mundane. "They're bugging me."

This even caught the attention of the shadow beneath him, now craving a story and feeling owed one for Silver having the guts to deny him one at the jewelry store.

Silver tensed up slightly. "M-My mom gave them to me a really long time ago." After finally saying it he loosened up, body language less stiff, both hands at his sides. "Another reason I came to this island was to meet my birth parents and find out where I came from. I can't remember anything about my mom save for the fact she gave me these to help me control my psychokinesis. I remember her liking jewelry – she had a similar pair she would wear all the time."

"Is that right?"

"Y-Yeah. It's the only thing I have left of her." He smiled. "It's funny because it wasn't until I came here that I remembered anything about her. I don't even know what species she is. Now all I remember about her were gold bracelets. But even then that gives me more of a clue to her identity than what I had before."

Shadow stopped, closed his eyes, looking stern with his arms crossed (but then again this seemed to be his expression by default). "And your father? Do you remember him?"

Silver stopped, wanting to know why this old and grumpy hedgehog would even ask. "All I remember was that he was a hedgehog. He didn't stick around long. He did the basics but nothing beyond that."

"Sounds like a real hard-ass."

"I wouldn't know. Can't remember anything about him. Last thing I remember was essentially being orphaned." _I never even got a formal goodbye or a reason for it._

Shadow sighed, continuing coldly. "Sorry to burst your bubble but even if you do find out who he is, there's a chance he might not be interested in getting to know you. You might not even like the person he turns out to be."

 _Sounds a little personal._ Silver gulped a bit, feeling sweat drip down the side of his head. "Speaking from experience?"

"You could say I have issues of my own. I've been trust into the world and my so-called 'father' was a madman who tried to blow up the world I was told to protect." That statement made Silver sweat bullets. "That's why I'm telling you that you shouldn't make finding your dad too much of a priority. He might not be worth knowing."

Silver just nodded, still following Shadow all the way to the place Rouge wanted to meet with them. The rest of the way there was completely silent but Silver smiled contently.

 _That settles it right there. He's my dad... Isn't he?_

…

Blaze took a quiet moment to herself atop the roof of a townhouse overlooking a quiet street without many people. She managed to get away from the black hedgehog but was left with more questions than answers. Silver was still missing. She didn't see him while she was running away. That black hedgehog seemed to have no idea what was going on – he even had her thrown into a wall. What she thought was the worst offense of all was Sonic simply walking away with Amy. That wasn't like him. It was obvious he and Amy were friends – and Amy wanted to be more than just his friend – but for him to not step in and take part in the action was unlike him.

 _Is this world different because of my being here or is Silver the root cause of all of this? Or perhaps Sonic himself is changing? Back then he would've offered to fight WITH me rather than have me fight alone. Or... maybe he and Amy..._

She shook her head. "No. Stay focused." She breathed in and out in a certain pattern to help her relax and regain focus. "That girl was strange too. Something was definitely wrong with her..."

She hopped from rooftop to rooftop to get a better look at the castle, no doubt where that girl would be since she spoke of not letting the cat causing trouble in her kingdom. _Perhaps she's just like me then... A different dimension, a different species and somehow the roles we share are no different. But what of the flames? That's something I still need to figure out._

And hiding behind the chimney of a townhouse she spotted the trio that got away in the distance...

Sonic sat on the steps of the castle with Amy, she was hugging him as usual but he seemed to return her advances for once, petting her on her head like she was a child. She couldn't hear what they were talking about which only made the scene look all the odder. And then there was that human girl a few steps above them.

She needed to get closer to them, especially the girl.

For her to mention a hedgehog matching Silver's description also bugged her. They'd only just gotten there that day and there seemed to be no one else of their kind on the island so how could she have seen a white hedgehog however long ago before they'd – _focus. If you think about it too hard you'll only make yourself angry. Your flames have caused enough trouble._

She stretched on all fours and slicked her hair back to keep up her refined appearance. "Both of the black hedgehogs won't be of any help. I'll need to get an audience with the princess herself, if she'll let me."

...

Elise felt like something was wrong. She looked all around but Agent Shadow was no where to be found and while the guards had insisted she return to her room, lock all of the doors and windows and stay inside for the rest of the day she declined. There was work she wanted to do outside. This was just a small set-back. It was a safety issue that was currently being remedied. And at the moment she was perfectly safe – she got a new bodyguard in the form of a pink hedgehog who was currently canoodling with the blue member of her species.

The thought made Elise both happy and jealous. They were certainly cute together. Her lessons in the arts (calling back to her lessons in art and design) made her think of how nicely the colors of their fur contrasted with one another but still managed to look good. They also shared the color red in common which made them look nice standing next to each other. And if not for Sonic trying to push her away they would've looked like an ordinary couple taking a vacation together. She would've loved to have someone like that.

But how could you start a romance with someone when you didn't even have friends?

And romance in general was a side quest. If she was going to be married or in a relationship with anyone it'd be for the sake of a political alliance. Romantic love would come later if it ever happened at all. And her having any sort of relationship at this moment in time was impossible with a mad doctor trying to revive the Solaris Project and the strange goings on around Soleanna...

Not to mention the hedgehogs on the stairs of the castle being adorable.

She scooted down a few more steps to get closer to them without either of them realizing it.

"I can't believe Blaze would just act that way. That wasn't like her at all." Sonic said.

"Something must be really wrong. I shouldn't have teased her so much about her boyfriend." Amy scratched her head in partial confusion. Looking at Sonic she continued. "She was looking for you and someone else – I thought maybe it was a friend or a boyfriend of hers that heard she came here before and thought you were some romantic rival. Romantic sure, but-."

"Romance aside..." Sonic shook his head. "Something's just not right. Blaze likes working on her own but she wouldn't start trouble out of no where. Shadow tries to be edgy and cool but-."

"He wouldn't provoke her on purpose unless he thought she was suspicious or trying to hurt me." Elise spoke coldly, surprising the two and sitting in between them both and sitting in a way that would make her former etiquette teachers slap her on the hands with a ruler. "That's just how that line of work is. I only regret it happening in public. I've already been advised to retire to my room for the rest of the day but I won't."

"It's my fault too... I brought Blaze over without knowing her whole story."

Elise interjected before Sonic could give Amy his own reassuring commentary. "It's not your fault. That cat is going to come back to ask about that white hedgehog."

"Um..." Sonic huffed a bit, clearing his nose. "Everyone's been mentioning this other hedgehog left and right but I have no idea what everyone's talking about. Mind filling me in?"

"Oh. See when you showed up during the festival I thought I saw one..." Elise found herself embarrassed. "I-It turned out to just be you instead but..."

And then Amy asked: "You mean Silver, right?"

"Silver?" Elise asked in response, the word sending a chill down her spine but being unaware of the reason why. "You know him Amy?"

And without really meaning to or realizing the gravity of her words Amy continued: "Only white hedgehog I know is Silver. He's a nice boy, always has been! He's my-!"

"Amy what are you talking about?" Sonic grabbed her hand, snapping her out of it.

She blinked, vision hazy. "Did I say something?"

"Yeah, you were being weird." He squeezed her hand, trying to keep her in reality. "You were being so cool earlier. You even managed to keep up with me but now you're acting strange. It's not like you."

Amy didn't really pay attention because her crush was so concerned about her and she was concerned that he was making him concerned. "I guess I spaced out then. What did I say?"

"You said you knew Silver and I didn't even tell you his name..." Blaze appeared in front of them with a surprised expression.

She had been so careful to not mention Silver's name because she didn't want more people involved than there needed to be. She'd planned on solving things quickly but the fates were against the idea.

"Amy, how in the world do you know Silver?"

"Silver? I don't know what you mean."

Feeling defensive Sonic stood up, Amy clinging to his arm. "Blaze, what's going on? No one's acting right! This isn't making sense!"

Blaze smiled weakly. "If only things were more simple... I was hoping this could all be solved easily but it looks like my being here has caused nothing but trouble."

"You won't cause anyone any trouble if you just let people in and help you! I thought you learned that the last time you came here."

"There's more to it than that."

"I knew you'd be back." Elise walked down the stairs to where Blaze stood stern and stoic. She knelt down to talk with the cat face to face. "You want to find him too, don't you?"

"Yes. Your world is in danger. In a few days time-."

"This has to do with Iblis, doesn't it? I swear that's the only reason why everyone is here." Elise got back up, feeling upset and resenting the god inside of her. "Does this new hedgehog have something to do with Iblis? He's not trying to awaken Iblis is he?!"

"N-No! We're here for the exact opposite!" Blaze cleared her throat. "Silver's a trustworthy person. If anything it's that black hedgehog you should be wary of."

"You had no right to attack Agent Shadow the way you did."

"I suspect this 'Agent Shadow' for reasons you don't need to know of."

"Yes, I do." Elise looked back at Sonic who's left arm was no longer in his possession. She wanted to command him to apprehend Blaze but seeing his and Amy's worried expressions she took a long, deep breath and said: "I'm Princess Elise III of Soleanna." and she extended her hand.

Blaze looked up at the human in surprise, honestly expecting a fight. But being in front of another noble (even if she was from another dimension) made her own lessons in etiquette come back full force. "I apologize for assaulting your entourage in such a public setting. No doubt Silver would've the same thing for me if you or Agent Shadow had provoked him."

"Blaze, right?"

Blaze nodded. "of Sol."

"Sol and Soleanna..." Elise took that thought in, retracting her hand and putting it to her chin. "So you're from another world's version of Soleanna it seems."

"It could be, but your home looks nothing like mine. But none of that is important now. I needed an audience with you and now I'll be needing an audience with your pink hedge-knight."

Elise smiled at the term. "I won't have you hurting anyone else. And I don't believe-."

"It's URGENT."

But Amy didn't seem to want anything more to do with the purple cat, hiding behind her man. And while Sonic tried to calm her down and ask her what was wrong, Amy stood silent, shaking her head in no whenever she was asked what was going on or if she was okay.

"Amy what's wrong? This isn't like you!" Sonic was used to her being emotional but not this emotional and he preferred lovey-dovey Amy to a sad Amy who couldn't tell him what was wrong. "Amy you're really scaring me."

And without really realizing it she was crying into his shoulder. "I don't know, okay? Nothing feels right!"

Blaze shook her head, annoyed. "Look Elise, if I can't get Amy to talk to me then having an audience with you is more than enough. If you want to help me find Silver then so be it. But you'll need to tell me more about Iblis as well as that black hedgehog."

Elise took another deep breath, looking back at Sonic. "Sonic, I'm going with Blaze."

And then Sonic had to turn away from a troubled Amy. "But Elise, I'm supposed to be your back up!"

"No, I'll be fine. Besides..." She turned away, face slightly red. "I-I can't... I can't say it now but I'll meet back up with you later!" And off Elise ran with Blaze, both of them running at reasonable paces.

Unfortunately for the blue hedgehog he was abandoned with a crying girl to his chest and no where else to go, left with more questions than answers and feeling left out of all the action.

But despite going against Shadow's instructions, the guards suggestions to stay inside for the rest of the day, leaving Sonic alone with Amy and so on, Elise knew she made the right decision.

Fate had been calling her, telling her to meet that white hedgehog though she didn't know why. This was the main reason she had to leave Sonic alone...

 _I can't stand idly by... Not with so much at stake. And not when just staying home and ignoring such an opportunity would risk me crying. But I can't cry... I'm going to pursue this the way I choose... I just hope they aren't too upset with me..._

 **Chapter 5 end**

 **So something that may or may not have been a bombshell: Shadow is Silver's dad. Some in the review section have already guessed this and I admit I made it somewhat obvious on purpose. If you're a nerd like me or if you are also a 1am-4am zoologist and animal breeder, you may also feel the same way I do about this theory: Shadow and Silver already share a few of the same physical features so if you're going with a "Silver is _'s son!" theory, Shadow is the obvious father. They have similar eyes, they're the only hedgehog characters in the games with special abilities other than chaos control, they both have a glow outside of going "super" with the help of the chaos emeralds and they also have tufts of fur on their chests (with Silver having the most floof). Speed also isn't Silver's gimmick. He's pretty slow in comparison to Shadow and Sonic meaning Sonic isn't a likely father; on top of not having physical similarities to Silver, if he was the father it would mean that Silver would've inherited that speed – speed Silver lacks in-game.**

 **As for who the mom is... I want to pull on your heart strings just a bit more... So that'll wait, but my inner zoologist/animal breeder has fitting material for who the mother would be as well.**

 **Next chapter is a bit of a buffer chapter. In addition while this story is MOSTLY planned in my brain I seem to have written myself into a scenario I didn't think of: I accidentally wrote TEAMS.**

 **To recap we have Silver (and Mephiles) with Rouge and Shadow, we have Elise (and Iblis) and Blaze and now we have Sonic and Amy on their own. So I seem to have accidentally written myself into a Sonic Heroes style team sort of gimmick but mostly with duos rather than trios.**

 **And while I do typically plan out my fanfics ahead of time – the only parts that are really truly planned are big ideas or big goals, how it begins, a climax, and ending and then everything else in between is complete improvisation on my end. So the fact I seem to have written myself into teams surprises even me.**

 **The chapter after the buffer chapter might take time to write as I'll need to consider what to do with this little odd scenario I've written myself into.**


	7. Memories part 1

**Chapter 7**

 **Welcome to the buffer chapter!**

 **Yes this can be considered a filler chapter but I'm of the school of thought that if you have filler in your show, movie, comic, whatever: it should be interesting and useful filler!**

 **In general these might focus on either a single character's memories or several character's memories told from a more general and objective perspective. The first chapter of this variety revolves around Silver: starting to remember things from his past. BUT the past isn't all that clear. It may contain red herrings, things he's not remembering correctly and a whole lot of other things that may or may not have happened the way he's recalling it – if he's not making whole parts up for that matter! In other words: take these chapters with a bucket of salt and start formulating your own theories and await chapters of this type to see if you were right.**

 **That's also a side effect of writing time travel stories – which is not a bad thing, just requires a lot of focus and careful experimentation. Definitely not something I'd recommend for a first-time writer unless you are really passionate about time travel stories from the get go and perhaps your story is more character-driven above all else.**

 **And so I present Silver Edition's first filler chapter:**

 **Memories of a Past that may or may Not Have Happened – part 1**

Silver was young at the time. If he had to guess, perhaps he was around three or four. He remembered being a mess of white fur with quills that could never be combed back and tamed without a pit-crew's worth of assistance – not helped by the fact his chest and neck were covered in fluff.

Mom took a peak at him from behind a wall. She liked to do that when she had something to tell him. He waved her over. She sat with him on the couch, holding a black box. Being nosy and a curious child he opened the box on her lap: there were gold bracelets inside.

She put them on his wrists. "This will help you control it better."

She was obviously referring to his psychokinesis. He vaguely recalled it being much more difficult to control when he was very young. He didn't recall every single incident caused by uncontrollable powers at the time – and when he thought about it too hard he just filled in the blanks with stories that were far more embellished than what was likely reality; stories too close to fiction to have actually happened.

"Try using your powers with them a little later. I'll get started making dinner soon."

He clanged his new bracelets against his mom's. It was his non-verbal way of pointing out that they matched and he got a pat on the head in response.

"I know. Now we match, don't we?"

He remembered the feeling of not wanting mom to leave but she left anyway. And the worst part was that he had the gut-wrenching and foreboding feeling that this single memory he had of his mom was the last time he ever saw her...

...

He was being tested. He was placed in a padded room, hands restrained to a wall. He was sweating bullets. He was hesitating. He wanted to go home and cry all day instead of taking part in this stupid and scary experiment. A team of human silhouettes watched him from behind a glass window, telling him instructions he couldn't remember before getting balls of varying sizes thrown at him.

He managed to stop a few with his mind, throwing them at the wall parallel to him but could only stop one object at a time... The rest ended up hitting him in the head, chest, arms or knees, hit with nothing hard enough to make him bleed but he could end up stuck with blue bruises for a ...

Eventually the cruel testing stopped and like any sad child he hid his face behind his knees and broke down crying. A hand was put on his shoulder, being told instructions in a soft tone of voice that was desperately trying not to yell or scream at the hoglet.

The voice sighed. "I know it's hard. I know it hurts. There's nothing we can do about it." And it continued in that cold and aggravated tone of voice. "This is the reason why I... Never mind. There's nothing I can do about it now. This wasn't my choice."

The silhouette walked a few steps away, punching the padded wall before falling on his knees.

"Damn it all... I didn't ask for this... I have no idea how to take care of you and I can't even help you with your abilities. It's no use!" He punched the wall a second time. "DAMN IT ALL! IT'S NO USE ANYMORE!"

He remembered several humans in white coats running into the room, picking him up and taking him out of the room and he struggled to free himself from the arms of humans trying to hold him and push him away to safety as the room he was previously in started growing a violent shade of red - that same glow Shadow had or something similar...

Of course he couldn't tell if he was genuinely remembering Shadow being there or just placing him there for some level of self-satisfaction but then alarms started going off, human soldiers in full armor rushing in with guns. A nice human with short blonde hair stood hugging Silver in a corner, trying to cover his hears so he wouldn't hear what was going on.

But he did hear... It was muffled, but he heard. He heard what could only be gunshots and the person who may or may not have been Shadow (in reality) walking out of the room with an injured and fatigued gait but with no physical injuries anywhere on him.

He shot a look at Silver and the woman guarding him. "I'm... sorry..."

The woman didn't say much – or at least nothing Silver could remember.

"Is he going to be okay?"

"He'll be fine. It's you who everyone should worry about." said the human.

"I never asked for any of this... I don't see why-." something was left out, something Silver couldn't remember. "-has to run all of these tests. The world is on fire, I'm sitting on my ass when I'm not trying to save the damn world and I'm saddled with this burden I never-!"

"SHE WOULDN'T WANT YOU TO THINK ABOUT HIM LIKE THAT!" shouted the human. Silver remembered the feeling of being held as close as possible to the point of having trouble breathing. "Do you really think it'd a good idea to think of him like that? Is that what she would want for him?"

The person who may or may not have been Shadow in reality groaned. "Silver, we're leaving." He walked to the small hoglet, cowering in fear of the person who had to have been his father.

But the small hoglet couldn't speak, looking up at the figure in fear.

"I'm sorry Silver. We can go home and forget that any of this ever happened." While his eyes were still sinister and he tried to maintain a strong gait the tone of his voice changed. He was still obviously angry but there was a growing sense of urgency and fear in that voice. "Whatever you want to do we can do it... I don't care anymore... Just work with me. You feel safe at home right?"

He did want to go home but he was also too afraid to move.

The human woman picked him up. "I've got him. You should take some time to cool off."

"No... I'm going home. I'm taking him with me... Let me at least do that..." He attempted to smile while accepted his despair, looking absolutely horrified by something. "I mean I'm encouraged to bond with him, right? If I'm a parent, let me do my job."

The human woman muttered something that Silver couldn't remember, her mouth moving with no words coming out.

"I know this isn't ideal..." that horrified smile was glued to his face. "But this is what we've got..."

"Yeah."

"Just let me take him home. I know I'll be reprimanded for this later on so at least give me some time to at least pretend to be alive before I'm executed."

Again, she said a name or something that Silver couldn't remember as she put Silver down.

Immediately he was collected by the older hedgehog and dragged back to that same living room setting he recalled in the one memory he had of his mom. This older, darker figure just had that horrified smile glued to his face. It was a level of despair Silver wouldn't wish upon anyone but there it was: utterly consuming this man.

"They're going to come for me soon. You stay here." He pat the small, white hoglet on the head. "I know I'm not a good person. I certainly haven't been a good parent to you. But for your sake and hers, I won't let you be punished for my mistakes."

He pulled out a green gem with an ethereal glow to it that Silver couldn't help but want to touch it.

The older hedgehog snickered. "You remember this, don't you? I'm afraid you can't take it with you." He shook his head, the distorted smile on his face worsening and contorting in ways that turned the mystery man in Silver's memories into a literal monster made of shadows.

"You have no place or reason for being here. You were better off not being born..."

Whether he was remembering any of this correctly or not, this confirmed two things: whoever his mom was, she was already gone and trapped with a single father that didn't seem to want him around...

…

 **Chapter end**


	8. Chapter 7: A Future In Motion

**Chapter 8: A Future in Motion**

Recalling such a memory he felt a chill go down his spine and he was breaking out in a cold sweat.

He snapped himself back to reality. Rouge was talking with Shadow outside – unable to hear them or read their mouth movements to figure out what they were talking about. He was sitting down on a bench in the hotel lobby. He'd been told to wait by the window; sun burning the back of his head and neck but the cold sweat he was having made him feel freezing cold and desperately in need of warmth.

The shadow hiding in his shade spoke to him. "What's the matter? Did you recall something you'd rather not remember?"

To that Silver tried to nod as subtly and inconspicuously as possible.

"What's the matter? Anything you'd be willing to open up about?"

Silver crossed his arms, looking down at the floor and not wanting to socialize at all.

From what he remembered – what he hoped was and wasn't an actual memory of the past – he wasn't wanted. No wonder he had recalled the vague details of his father. He must not have been wanted. He must not have been planned properly. He felt gross to his core...

"What if I wasn't wanted?" He muttered as quietly as possible. "I mean it makes the most sense... That explains why I was abandoned. I think I get why you were being so weird about telling me who my parents are too. From what I remember my dad is just an asshole..."

"Oh? Is that what you remember?"

"You know a lot more than you're letting on... You know Shadow's my dad, don't you?"

The stranger sighed, his shadowy and smokey form embracing Silver from behind. "Yes... I was aware of that... And the reason I haven't told you was because I know that regaining your memories is going to be difficult. I didn't want to sway you in one direction or the other in a way that might create false memories for you."

"False memories?"

"Yes... You said it yourself: you were alone. One such as yourself might picture having an ideal family. If I gave you the names and faces of your parents right off the bat then who's to say you'd actually remember the facts? You might deluded yourself into thinking the past was better or worse than it actually was."

"But if you did just tell me right away maybe I would have the courage to say it and I'd be able to tell them what's going to happen. They'd have to recognize their own son, right?"

"They can't recognize you when you're just a fetus Silver."

It occurred to the white hedgehog then and there: _Okay, that makes sense... but gross..._

"Well, do they know?" Silver hesitated. "Do they know I'm around?"

"No. Your mother doesn't know, nor does Shadow."

"That explains that I guess."

"Actually, can you confirm something for me? I need to know something about hedgehogs as a species."

This caught Silver's attention seeing how the stranger first came to him in the form of a black hedgehog himself (one that looked like Shadow for that matter). "You're not sure about your own species?"

"As I've said before, I remember who I am but not the what. I might take the form of a hedgehog but I don't think I was born one... Honestly referring to myself as that species is something I've had to do out of convenience. But you're a hedgehog so can you confirm something?"

"What's it about?"

"Typically when hedgehogs mate the father doesn't stay in the picture, do they? Is it true they only form child-mother relationships?"

When Silver thought about it the stranger was correct. Typically male hedgehogs didn't stay in the picture after mating season which is why he had the overall impression that his father wasn't much of a father – for lack of a better way of wording it. No wonder he held that single memory of his mom in such high regard. _No wonder Shadow seems to hate my guts. For all I know my mom could've died sometime after she gave me my bracelets. He must've stayed around out of pity...That human in my memory pretty much confirmed it! Sounds like he was guilt-tripped into attempting to raise me._

Silver didn't want to think about it anymore but he tried to force himself to. "Well, I remember another possible lead. See, there was this blonde human woman in my memory. She must've known my mom, probably a close friend."

"What else did you recall?"

"A lab. I mean it's not like psychokinesis is a normal thing for hedgehogs to have so maybe I was being trained or tested for something. Or maybe it was just a general training exercise to help me control my abilities. All I remember was it felt like torture honestly."

"You're coming around to being a real mama's boy."

"Like I have a choice or any other leads..." Silver sighed. "The question is: do I even mention it to them?"

The stranger stood completely silent. "A large reveal like that could have drastic consequences. It could either extend the amount of time we have to work with or cut it drastically short, along with all other factors. Ultimately child it is up to you, though I could advise against it."

Silver simply nodded, obeying the shadow's whims and keeping to himself until the adults came back into the lobby...

...

"So that's his story. Any questions?" Shadow looked over at Rouge, her body language unusually out of character. "I know it's weird and hard to believe, but I've already told Omega to dig up any information he can on Silver, just to verify whether or not he exists, if the story checks out. I'll also need to talk to that cat since they came from the same dimension."

"Poor guy~ Coming all this way for something as dangerous as that." Rouge already knew about the fact Silver was trying to find his family but to come here to save the world from some disaster seemed too much for the kid. "Sounds like too much for him to handle personally. I mean, the world being destroyed in 3 days? And he doesn't even know how?"

"Doesn't seem like it. No doubt it'd got something to do with Iblis. That means that Elise ends up crying in 3 days time or that Mephiles isn't too far behind."

Shadow pondered Mephiles' words at Kingdom Valley: _I would never have believed I would be resurrected through your shade! I thank you Shadow the Hedgehog. I owe so much to you. But worry not! What you gave to me I will be returning to you with interest very soon._ And like that he vanished.

"Let me ask you this: What do you think Mephiles meant by returning something to me with interest?" Shadow asked.

Rouge put a hand to Shadow's mouth. "Hold on... Silver's upset about something." Her ears twitched.

"Upset about wha-?!" He was hushed again. Rouge's huge ears were definitely useful for hearing conversations that any other species without special ears would think was private. So he decided to whisper. "What's he talking about?"

"The kid's talking to himself. Something about his family..." She could hear every word of it. "It's nothing you'd be interested in, but it concerns me personally."

"Why are you so attached to that urchin*?"

Rouge sighed, hand on her chin and smiling. "Well, I've always been one for treasures Shady~"

That phrasing made Shadow's skin crawl slightly. "Rouge... He's a kid! He's just an urchin!"

He got a slap to the face and she covered her chest. "Not like that you brute. Look at you: assuming I mean it like that! I just mean he's a nice kid is all. And based on the story you gave me, I actually feel even worse for him now."

"Nothing we can do about his past."

"Well, you never know~ We could. But I know that's not on your agenda unless it becomes a way to get to the bottom of all this." She smirked. "The kid tends to talk to himself enough as it is. I'm guessing it's some imaginary friend. Of course I'll keep an ear out for anything that might be useful but I suggest getting close to the kid yourself."

"If I'm to talk to that child it'll only be for work. I see no point in getting to know him as a person. You seem to have fulfilled that role just fine on your own." Shadow closed his eyes, leaning his head back and breathing. _I'm still trying to figure out what Mephiles was talking about. What sort of 'interest' was he talking about? And this white hedgehog and that cat from another dimension..._ "If I can ask you something personal..."

"Like what?"

"What do you see in him?" Shadow asked in his usual cold tone of voice. "I have no idea how to interact with him. You know the type of person I am by now."

"Oh don't I know that~." She relaxed a bit, no longer hiding her chest and grabbing Shadow's hand. "Just be the Shadow you are when you're off work - relax a little~! Maybe we can go for drinks to loosen your strings~? Of course my little Sterling can't drink because he'd need to haul your butt back to the boat but-!"

"And another thing: what's with the name Sterling?"

Rouge's ears perked up, bringing a smile to her face. "It's a bit of a pun sure, but it still works. Sterling silver is silver that's at 92.5% purity, the rest being other metals. Silver as a metal is relatively soft so to harden it you can alloy it with copper. Silver is also prone to tarnish so without constant care and polishing it'll eventually turn black or occasionally even yellow and it's value decreases. So in the case of making a more tarnish-resistant silver you could alloy it with platinum, silicon, zinc or boron."

Her obsession was showing... "I didn't need the lecture."

"It's fitting though. Silver blackens over time without constant polishing and care. And he sort of reminds me of you in that aspect." She smiled to attempt to hide her melancholy, remembering what she overheard Silver say inside. "I almost want to see him a few years older to see if his fur starts turning gray."

He didn't hear what she had heard, so none of this made any sense to him. To Shadow, Rouge just went on some little tangent about jewelry and the purity of silver along with some desire to see Silver grow older which made him uncomfortable. And she could tell because while he tried looking calm and composed, his worry was showing in the eyes and slight twitches in his mouth.

"Just some curiosity on my end. It's nothing that important, so get that weird look off your face; I'm not after your little 'urchin'." She squeezed his hand. "In the meantime just try letting go of work for a bit. We have Omega. We have the rest of GUN. You have me. So just try loosening your strings. Mephiles will get taken care of in some way or another."

Shadow took back his hand. "Perhaps it's time we go back inside then."

Receiving a nod from Rouge, the went back in, causing Silver to jump in surprise.

Rouge put a hand on his shoulder. "You doing alright Sterling~?"

Silver simply nodded, making Shadow groan at the thought of trying to get closer to him on a non-work basis. The black hedgehog leaned against a wall, his annoyance showing on his face. "I was just telling Rouge the story you told me. We've also told a third agent your story for your own safety."

"Shadow, go make reservations. I need to have a word with Silver." Rouge instructed.

 _For someone telling me to get close to the kid, you sure seem like you want to push me away to do the busy work._ "I thought we'd already discussed this."

"We did: and you were insistent that he can't stay with us so hurry up."

That part was true. While he was mad at Silver for nearly drowning his ass in the canals and wanted to take him into custody, drag him to the boat he, Rouge and Omega were docked at for intense questioning Rouge has softened him. She told him how they could resolve all of this without violence. 'Get closer to him' she said. 'He's a nice kid' she said. And yet he gets pushed aside, forced to make reservations that would go on GUN's tab and be an overall pain in his rear end.

He just shook his head and left, Rouge muttering something along the lines of 'what an ass' as he walked up to the reception desk.

"Sorry you had to deal with him all on your own Silver." She crossed her arms and looked away uncomfortably. "I heard everything too - you talking to yourself I mean."

Silver had forgotten about the fact that bats had excellent hearing which made him sweat bullets. "How much did you hear?"

"Just enough." She smiled, trying to be friendly. "I mean, I wasn't listening to spy on you. You just looked upset and I was worried. That and my ears are special on account of being a bat~."

Before he could ask how much she heard again, she continued:

"You think Shadow could be your dad..." She smile faded a bit, keeping her arms crossed and unintentionally lifting her chest up. "I can't say I don't see a resemblance. Proof's right in the face: the eyes, the chest floof. I mean you could always have DNA tests done but I don't know if you'd wanna go that far. I mean even without test results, I would buy it. But I can't help but feel bad for you somehow. It's not like Shadow is the friendliest guy around."

Silver got up, butt numb from sitting down on an uncomfortable bench for so long. "It's not like you can change who your parents are or where you come from. If that's the case it's something I have to deal with. If not, I just have to keep looking around."

"I'd say you already found your match but neither of us should say anything about it to him. I'll be sure to keep that secret for you until the time is right, okay?"

Silver nodded. "Thanks. You're a really good friend." He started sniffling. "I'm really glad I met you..." He started rubbing his eyes. "I-I mean if I didn't I don-."

He was swept into a hug again with a hand on his back another on his head, nose surely dented after coming into contact with the bat's well-endowed chest. But rather than fight back he gave in to person trying to comfort him – just letting it happen and taking comfort in the fact someone was trying to help him at all.

Shadow walked over, for once concerned for Silver as well as Rouge (as he had first-hand experience being suffocated by bat cleavage, usually when he was drunk and being dragged to wherever 'home' was for any given mission). "What's going on here?"

Rouge just rolled her eyes, trying to tell Shadow to either handle Silver himself or leave them alone without using any words.

"Rouge, I'm just asking-. More importantly he might-!" Shadow also would've loved to point out that Silver looked like he was suffocating in between Rouge's... Nope, he wasn't going to mention it. He didn't want to get accused of harassment. Thankfully without having to ask she let the poor kid breathe again, pushing him toward Shadow in a subtle way that Silver wouldn't be able to tell was on purpose.

Then she abandoned the two, going to the reception desk and no-doubt trying to charm her way into getting room service and other luxuries.

Shadow stood still as a rock, not knowing what to say or how to interact with Silver in any sort of meaningful way that wasn't a threat or an accusation. He was completely out of his element which made him awkwardly retreat back to the wall he'd been leaning against.

He tried to offer the kid an apology at least. "I'm..." He growled. "I'm sorry for being such an ass."

This caught Silver's attention – his eyes still red from crying and rubbing his eyes. "What are you apologizing for?"

"Don't get cute with me. I'm telling you I'm sorry about how I acted earlier. My job isn't exactly the easiest job in the world. I'm trying to protect it just like you are." And scratched his quills. "I've already been dragged away from my post just to handle _this_."

Despite this child now being apart of his job, it did also distract him from watching over Elise. It was vital that she not cry. Not now. Not three days from now. Not ever. What a cursed life to live. That was the post he was given and as the ultimate life form, what better fit for a bodyguard? It was the same with Maria save for- Silver interrupted him.

"Well, I'm involved now and I have powers too. Why can't I offer my assistance?"

"What makes you think you can handle it?"

"I just want to get stronger is all. I mean, I have powers too."

Shadow leaned against the wall again, seriously thinking about it. _He's from another dimension, he's naive, he's stupid, but he does have powers of his own. He could know something about Iblis and Mephiles that I don't._ He grunted. "It's possible that we could stop Iblis by working together but how can you guarantee you won't just be a liability?"

Thinking about it, Silver recalled the purple gem: that Chaos Emerald that started all of this. He cursed at himself for not thinking of it earlier. He pulled it out, watching Rouge's ears perk up while she tried to flirt with the receptionist.

"How did you get your hands on a Chaos Emerald?" Shadow's expression changed drastically, standing in front of the emerald in such a way that the person at the reception desk couldn't see it.

"Take it. I don't see much of a use for it." Silver egged him on. "I mean it, really. Take it as me being serious about wanting to help you and Rouge."

Shadow smirked a bit, taking the emerald. "Oh? Perhaps it's just Rouge you're interested in helping then."

Silver turned pink. "Well, she's a good friend but-!"

"And her being a good friend is how it should stay."

Silver grimaced. "You know for someone so angry, you sure seem really set on Rouge for some reason." Again, he could see the bat's ears in the distance perking up – no doubt loving the attention which only made Silver smile and snicker to himself. "I mean you already talk like you're a married couple or -."

Shadow punched him on his leaf-shaped quills. "She's just a co-worker and a fellow agent at GUN." He looked off to the side. "She's also not a bad person to walk you home when you're drunk..."

Unlike before, Rouge's ears drooped down which Silver found to be odd.

"Enough about Rouge. If you're serious about helping me with my work you've already given me your 'insurance'. As long as you can follow orders, control your powers and not get in the way I don't think we'll have any problems." Shadow smiled in a funny sort of way where Silver couldn't tell whether he was smiling because he was happy or if it was just another smirk he was interpreting incorrectly. He stuck out his hand. "It'll be nice working with you, Sterling~."

And suddenly Silver really hated that name...

…

The two princesses of flame walked together, going back to the plaza where they first met. Blaze had hoped to find Silver there while Elise tagged along to perhaps meet this mysterious white hedgehog that everyone but she and Sonic seemed to know something about.

"So Blaze, how is it you know Silver?" Elise asked, walking slowly behind Blaze whose gait indicated that she was in a rush and only walking slower than usual for the human in heels behind her.

"He's my personal guard." Blaze started walking slightly faster, hearing Elise's heels clacking against the ground to catch up to her.

"Agent Shadow has that position on my side, though only on a temporary basis. As long as Eggman is a threat to Soleanna, that's how long Argent Shadow stays." Elise explained, the cat looking back at her.

"I can relate to dealing with eggmen in my dimension but how would he get access to them? How are the Flames of Disaster awakened?"

This caught Elise off-guard as she and Blaze had just met... To go into detail about Iblis was something she had to carefully consider. Surely Agent Shadow had been briefed on the subject. Everyone back at the castle knew. Her doctors knew, giving her absolutely every immunization possible to prevent her from being allergic to anything that might make her eyes water.

"That depends... You seem to know a lot about what's going to happen to my world more than I do. You tell me." She tried to stand firm. She needed the upper hand in the mist of the chaos.

Blaze sighed, coming to a halt. "I was told the Flames of Disaster were going to destroy this world. I can't bear the thought of seeing this world fall to the future I saw... Not when I have friends here. Satisfied?" She crossed her arms. "That's really all I know. I'm in the dark about the rest of the details."

This shook Elise to her core, causing her to freeze next to Blaze. She couldn't bare to cry now. After all, this was only news; news that may or may not happen in the future! The future wasn't written in stone! There was nothing to cry about. She tried to remain positive. "If what your saying is true then the future you're proposing isn't a guarantee. It can change. There's no reason to panic."

"The only ways I can think of preventing that from happening is by sealing away the Flames of Disaster, finding a way to defeat them if their awakening is inevitable or getting a hold of that black hedgehog that started all of this."

"Agent Shadow has an alibi."

"I'm not talking about Shadow." Blaze scratched her head. "I realized that earlier. They look similar, sound somewhat similar but they aren't the same person."

Elise grunted, getting annoyed. "I'm going to need you to explain."

Blaze sighed, aggravated by the human's constant questions and requests for information. "What I'm saying is that someone's playing all of us behind the scenes! And I have no other choice to believe it's anyone other than this black hedgehog who convinced Silver into coming to this dimension!"

"And so that would mean that your coming here-."

"Was likely not apart of this being's plan."

It made sense. If someone were manipulating things from behind the scenes to get this 'Silver' character to come here at some point between the festival and today, Blaze was far too analytical of the situation to actually be a part of this mastermind's initial plan. She was the ultimate detective going up against someone trying to bring despair not just to Soleanna but the entire world.

Just thinking about Blaze getting hurt somehow filled Elise with an awful sense of dread she couldn't put a name to. An aching pain in her chest followed as though acid were eating away at her heart and lungs but she tried to suppress the pain as much as possible, not hearing any of what Blaze was saying in the meantime and only hearing:

"That's why it's important to find Silver."

Elise coughed, trying to come back to reality after getting lost in her thoughts and emotions and trying to look normal. "And do what exactly?"

Blaze continued walking, not answering Elise's question which made her ask again.

"What are you going to do when you meet him again? You're not going to hurt him are you?"

Blaze simply shook her head. "As much as I want to save this world maybe he's better just going back to my dimension. I can handle this on my own. And it's obvious that Silver is apart of that hedgehog's master plan so isolating him might be a good idea." Blaze didn't want to think about it but it was true...

Silver was in the center of some conspiracy against this dimension as a whole.

But before she could think about how she could save this world while keeping Silver safe she saw him in the window of what appeared to be a hotel... Immediately she pounced, face against the glass. And what was worse was that she couldn't get his attention. All she knew was that he was with this well-endowed bat who made her feel self-conscious and the black and red hedgehog from earlier.

She hissed instinctively. She couldn't help but feel over protective of him due to how naive and trusting he was. How she wanted to scratch the window open to get a hold of his neck to drag him back home! Once all this was over she told herself she wouldn't let him out of her sight and would arrange to have them sleep in the same room no matter how taboo or undignified it looked. And if not for the human tapping her on the shoulder to get her back to her senses she probably would've attempted to melt the glass in order to get in.

"So that's Silver... I didn't expect him to be occupied." Elise sighed, getting away from the window and retreating to a corner where she wouldn't be seen. He'd both haunted her and mesmerized her since the festival. She couldn't explain why. And now that she could literally barge her way in and demand whatever she wanted out of him she found herself nervous and unable to socialize.

Blaze also turned from the window with her back to it and covering her chest. "That's him. What was it you wanted to see him about?"

Elise sighed, unintentionally smacking the back of her head against a stucco wall. "Maybe it was wrong of me to come here after all. I mean you obviously need to see him more than I do! I'll just go back to Sonic and his friend and forget this ever happened. Besides, it's getting dark..."

It hadn't occurred to either of them but the sky was orange and night would soon force the princess of Soleanna to retreat back into her castle. Blaze on the other hand: a noble with no place to stay.

"Don't tell me you're deciding to turn back now. There are going to be decisions you can't turn back on. And if you run back home now, who's to say Eggman won't show up and snatch you away?" Blaze grunted.

"You have a point, but you don't have anywhere to stay either, do you?"

"You also have a point but I'm going to need to collect Silver and I might end up taking him home."

Something about Silver going away made Elise's organs feel like they were being grilled from the inside. Something was burning in her. An awful feeling of foreboding filled her insides with fire and it wanted to spill out but she felt the need to contain it. Something else was bugging her; not the chest pain, not the burning sensation from all of her organs, not the fact that Blaze was insisting on taking Silver back to her dimension. It was some instinct she hadn't been acquainted with in the past. A feeling without a name. A stranger without a face.

"Blaze, if you go in there something very bad is going to happen." Elise rapidly said without realizing the weight of her words. "I can't explain it but if you do, something really awful is going to happen! I want to avoid that!"

The cat hissed. "What?!"

"Something really bad is going to happen! I just know it! You can't see Silver now!" She grabbed Blaze's arm only for her gloved hand to get burned, the fingertips of the silk gloves charred black and her skin showing through.

"I can do as I please because he's my friend! You're just being a coward!" Blaze continued to hiss, walking toward the door, pulling the handle with a flaming hand and being met with an angry black and red hedgehog.

Shadow grinned. "I knew you'd be back."

Rouge stood behind him, ears perking up, a hand under her chin and hips swaying as she walked to the door. "Blaze, right? To think someone like you worried Silver senseless."

Blaze felt burnt. "Don't talk about him like that!"

"Oh honey, I'm not after your man – I'm trying to prevent a massacre!" Keeping Silver at bay with one hand, she pulled out a badge proving she was an agent of GUN. "Considering you attacked an agent of GUN without a reason we could take you into custody."

Shadow would've pat Rouge on the back if not for him trying to block the way in. "Your choice pussycat. We could arrest you or you and I could duke it out again." But before he could start cracking his knuckles or think about taking off his inhibitors a certain white hedgehog pushed past him, hugging the cat.

No words were needed. They were happy to see each other again and hugged each other as tightly as possible. Both of them were surprised to see the other happy, fully expecting the other person to be upset and somehow they weren't.

Blaze pet Silver's quills. "I'm happy you're okay."

Silver squeaked a bit. "I'm happy you aren't in jail."

"Shut up." She said the words in a friendly and familiar tone but the way grabbed his wrists was rough and unloving. "I came to get you back."

Elise stood idly by, the burning feeling in her bones never ceasing even as Shadow confronted the pair, talking to them about something she couldn't hear – their conversation blocked out as she thought about all the bad things that could possibly happen. Blurred visions swarmed through her mind, keeping her still, weak and looking like the demure princess she didn't want to be.

She couldn't stop Blaze from reuniting with Silver and for that she felt like she would be punished.

She was certain something awful would rain upon Soleanna and cut off her head like queens of the past from overseas be it Iblis, Mephiles, Eggman or some other threat to the world. The feeling wouldn't escape her, even as Agent Rouge went up to her and asked if she was alright.

She nervously nodded, trying to keep up appearances but the bat seeing through her nervous gait, able to hear her rapid heartbeat and small, fast breaths trying to keep quiet.

 _Something bad is going to happen soon. I'll only know it when I see it but this is a sign... This wasn't supposed to happen._

"Elise, you're not looking so good. What's going on with you?" Agent Rouge... She tried to breathe and act normally.

"I just don't want any more trouble." She took a few steps back though she didn't know why. "They're not going to fight again, are they?"

"No, we'd have the authority to arrest her if she started that again. Not to mention you're here. Why not exercise your power hun~?" While it was true that Elise could demand Blaze be arrested then and there she didn't want to go that far. She just could have Silver be taken away...

"No. I won't go that far. It's far more important to have Silver's cooperation." She folded her hands, keeping them close to her heart. "Blaze seems like the type to work alone but-."

"If anything happens you have more than enough authority to do something about it. And if you need the extra help, that's why we're here." Rouge smiled, observing and hearing the conversation from afar. "All depends on what you wanna do. Whatever you decide, we'll go along with it."

Elise breathed in relief. At least Rouge understood. Now it came to Blaze and Silver...

 **Chapter 8 end**

 **There was a bit of mating trivia for hedgehgos as well as some jewelry trivia! Hope you enjoyed that! If you want more mating trivia and a heap of comedy, you can check out my Sonic Boom fanfic called 'Mating Season', where the trivia is endless. As for the jewelry trivia, I learned that during a phase where I thought about designing jewelry. Though that piece of trivia about silver (the metal) turning black over time definitely makes a "Silver is Shadow's son" theory a lot cuter and gives Silver a more meaningful name.**

 ***Urchin: a term for a baby hedgehog. Another term for a baby hedgehog is 'hoglet' which is a far more common term.**


	9. Chapter 8: Moonlit Melee

**Quick note/apology: this chapter was a long-time coming due to a combination of awful real life bull crap that could qualify as domestic abuse getting in the way - not just of my fanfic writing or original writing but just about everything... Things are a bit better now but I do still worry for my future and safety at times. Not saying this stuff to cause panic or worry, it's just something that happened I feel my readers should know about should something happen...**

 **But moving on...**

 **This chapter involves me attempting to write combat again and for this chapter I had to dig up my copy of Sonic Rush, go back to Blaze's story line and fight her boss battles again just to see how she moves so I can get a better grasp of writing combat for her. I have the problem in that I can imagine action-oriented cut scenes in my mind but I have trouble putting them into words. On top of that my partner who considers himself a combat expert says every combat scene I attempt to write and put into words sucks – so that leaves me with very little confidence when writing action scenes...**

 **Anyway, on with the chapter:**

 **Chapter 9: Moonlit Melee**

The sun long set on Soleanna. Blaze found her hedge-knight but the hedge-knight in question refused to go back to Sol with her, another hedgehog interfering. The lights went on around town; windows of townhouses, gas lamps on street corners and the sconces on the walls of buildings. The stars over Soleanna were also bright, wanting to witness this fateful meeting be it a bloody battle or a peaceful resolution.

Shadow stood beside Silver, arms crossed and hiding the green chaos emerald in his hand. "Silver isn't going anywhere. He currently has a job he should be doing."

"Silver already has a job and he should be coming home with me. He doesn't belong in this dimension! I'm more than strong enough to defeat Iblis on my own!" Blaze's fingers lit up.

"You don't know when to give up, do you kitten?" Shadow pushed Silver behind him. "What does he mean to you? What does this world mean to you? And more over: what is it you have against Iblis or Mephiles that makes you so determined to defeat them yourself?"

"Mephiles?" Blaze had never heard that name before, nor had Silver. "Who is that?"

"So there are things you don't know." Shadow got a slight laugh out of that. "You talk big but when it comes down to it, you're going off on very little and you don't know the whole story."

Blaze closed her eyes in contemplation. _Mephiles has to be that other black hedgehog. It has to be. That makes the most sense right now. I mean, who else could it be?_ And then a smirk overtook her face. "Actually I think I've already met Mephiles myself. I just had no name to put to the face."

"Oh really~?" Shadow clutched the chaos emerald in his hand even tighter. "Then would you be so kind as to tell me when and where this meeting happened and what the two of you talked about?"

"Not until Silver is safe at home."

"Safety in numbers, kitten. And he's already given me his chaos emerald."

Blaze grit her teeth. _Then you realize that this MEPHILES was the one who gave him that emerald right?!_ "I don't trust Silver or that emerald in your care. We were tricked into coming here and Silver is the key to all of this. If he doesn't go home, this dimension could be worse off than it was in the future we saw before!"

Silver gulped, too nervous to speak previously but now that Blaze was demanding he come home and he actually had more reason to be here he couldn't leave now! Not when he just got confirmation about his parentage and was close to finding his mom, perhaps even other family.

"B-Blaze, we agreed we were going to save this dimension together! What happened when we got separated? What changed?!" the white hedgehog pleaded. "I can't leave when I've made friends here too! You can't deny me that when the reason you came here was to save Sonic and your other friends!"

Unbeknownst to Silver, he caught the human girl's attention but she didn't move for her own safety.

"Silver, while you were gone I realized a lot of important things... Things that may end up making the future we saw even worse! I can handle that traitorous black hedgehog myself. You're better off going home! You weren't meant to come here!" It hurt her to say it but it was true. They should've never gotten involved even if they both had selfish reasons for going through with this trip.

"I can't go back. Not now. Not when I've made friends and I have a shot at defeating Iblis!" Silver took on a defensive stance as if to guard Shadow of all people.

"I'm not trying to be cruel for the sake of being cruel, Silver!" She huffed, recalling how Amy acted out of character and mentioned knowing Silver earlier. Instantly she knew how to sweeten the deal. "If it's any consolation, I found someone who knows you in this dimension. If you come with me I can introduce you!"

Silver started sweating. He was told he was a mere fetus at this point in time. Whoever his mom might've been wouldn't have been aware he had even been conceived according to the shadowy companion hiding in his shade. It could've been a deception but at the same time it was Blaze telling him this... And sure Blaze kept secrets, but she couldn't lie about something as big and important as that could she?

His throat went dry. "I'm sorry Blaze, but..."

"Silver, do I need to beat the truth into you?! I'm your actual friend! Mephiles is just deceiving you!"

Immediately Silver was overcome by a chill that petrified his entire body, unable to move as his body suddenly felt as light and thin as paper. A shock went through his body and just as quickly as it happened the sensation faded, still left nervous and concerned for his and Blaze's well being and yet-!

Shadow grunted. "Blaze, was it?"

"What about me?" Blaze asked, looking at the frightened white hedgehog trembling behind the black one playing bad cop.

"In the interest of public safety I'm going to place you under arrest and have you interrogated with the use of a polygraph." He revealed the emerald in his possession. "Moreover: the one who defeats Mephiles will be ME. Chaos Control!"

In the blink of an eye Blaze was on her back with Shadow looking down at her against a night time backdrop. She back flipped onto her feet with arms and heels consumed by flames. "If you wanted another fight, all you had to do was say so."

Shadow laughed, cracking his knuckles. "Alright then kitty, I'll play nice and keep my inhibitors on to give you a fair shot. So make your move. I genuinely want to see whether you can defeat me or not."

Blaze jumped along the rooftops of townhouses and apartments, trying to get a good distance away from Shadow to test his teleportation. But either he was honest about playing fair or he was actually enjoying himself because despite moving from building to building he just stood in the middle of the square quietly. She scanned the ground below, still finding him standing in place and he shot her a look from afar.

"Well come on kitty cat! I thought you were going to attack me!"

He was taunting her! What an insult to the princess of Sol! She started spinning, flames flying and creating ribbons around her as she spun. She stopped, backing up to get a running start, running and jumping off the edge of a roof top while spinning and dancing with her flames getting ready for the kick only for the bastard to teleport mid-air – getting knocked out of place by a familiar blue blur.

Blaze landed on the ground, rapidly spinning while on fire and dashing into Shadow, landing a nice flaming punch in his face that sent him flying. She looked back at the blue blur. "Thank you for that. And sorry about earlier."

"Well whatever is going on with you and Silver, I wanna help. No one makes Amy cry and gets away with it!" Sonic smiled, expecting an impending Amy-branded glomp any second.

"Still, I was going in partially blind. To think Shadow actually gave me something valuable."

"Don't let him intimidate you." He gave a thumbs up. "Did you find Silver?"

"I'll explain it to you later." Blaze ran to Shadow, kicking him while he was down and digging her heel into his spine. "And as for you~ If you call me kitten again I'll-!"

Shadow grabbed her by the ankle, flipping the both of them over with him flipping onto his back and her landing on her stomach but quickly flipping herself back up on her feet.

She looked back at Sonic. "I'll be fine on my own. Just take care of Silver for me!"

He got up on one knee, starting to glow red. "Don't worry your pretty little head, he'll be fine."

She followed suit, her entire body on fire and lighting up the night sky. "He won't be fine until he gets home and away from Mephiles!"

Shadow smirked. "I already told you that the one who's gong to defeat Mephiles is ME!"

...

Having lead the concerned white hedgehog and a worried princess into the hotel, Rouge sighed - fully knowing that Shadow was just going to be Shadow and that she could do nothing about it. So no matter how much Silver begged to go back outside and act as Blaze's back-up she apologized and said no.

Elise in the meantime just sat on the bench Silver's behind had made an imprint on earlier and sat there wondering how she had gotten to this point in her life. There was a bat and a hedgehog having a meaningful argument inside, there was another hedgehog and a cat fighting outside – no doubt local law enforcement would be called if the noise got too loud – and moreover: she was still accomplishing nothing.

Fate dragged her all the way out here to meet this white hedgehog and she could say nothing nor get a moment alone with him – not even able to think about it without feeling awkward for approaching him. She wanted to slap herself silly for being so socially awkward. This wasn't what she had spent years of training to be the queen of Soleanna to do...

"You don't know how unfair this is to me, Rouge!" Silver pleaded. "It's not like I asked her to do what she did! I have no control over Blaze!"

"Ah, but it does seem to be the other way around~!" Rouge teased, delighting in seeing Silver's face go red. "I doubt they'll kill each other but at least she didn't kidnap you right in front of me. No doubt Shadow would've loved to witness something like that."

"But, is she really going to jail?"

"Well, we do have the authority to do so and while I personally feel like Shadow's just going to let it go after a good work out, you could ask the lonely human girl over there." Rouge gestured toward Elise, which also caused the princess to turn red. "She's got all the power on the island so if you have any questions that go even beyond GUN's control go ask her, Sterling." she pat him on the back in that same way to encourage Silver to network with more people that was subtle enough for him not to take as being forced to go somewhere and communicate with someone.

Elise lowered her head as the hedgehog approached. "Silver, I assume?"

Silver's years of being in service to Blaze came back to him, lowering his head and getting down on one knee. "Yes. Silver the Hedgehog." He got up, catching her smile at watching him act so formal. "Sorry to sound rude but-!"

"Elise. Just call me Elise, no titles necessary." remembering him being so formal kept her smiling and feeling less socially inept. "I've heard a lot about you. Blaze had nothing but nice things to say about you. Agent Rouge seems to share that opinion."

"Is Blaze going to be in any serious trouble?"

"Oh..." Elise herself hadn't thought about putting Blaze in jail. She was stern and serious – determined to do things immediately and according to her plan and her plan alone – sure! And while Elise wanted to avoid as much conflict as possible, it was obvious that certain conflicts would be unavoidable.

But what to do about Blaze...

"You don't want to go home, do you? I understand if you do but-."

Silver shook his head. "I can't go home! Not when I can save the world."

He seemed so friendly but that burning feeling in her bones still lingered. Something bad was going to happen but she had no way of knowing when or where this bad event would happen.

"So do you think something very bad is going to happen soon? Whether it happens to the entire world or to one person in particular?" She asked in a somber tone.

Silver was taken aback. "Well... I'd like to prevent that from happening if you'd let me." He looked at the ground, struggling to make eye contact with the human girl. He tried to smile but it came out awkward, which Elise caught. "Y-You have a really nice kingdom Princess-."

She placed a hand on his leaf-shaped quills, scratching them in such a way to get a small squeak out of the guy and catching Rouge's attention – her ears perking up from where she stood by the reception desk chatting up the receptionist.

Getting pet in such a way made Silver forget who he was talking too and where he was, getting relaxed enough to sit down beside the princess to continue being pet.

"I'm sorry if this comes across as strange but... I know you from somewhere, don't I?" Elise asked, watching Silver turn pink as he realized what was happening to him and removing her hands in a way that he probably didn't intend to come off as rude – but outside observers wouldn't see it that way. Taking her hand back Elise sighed. "I apologize, really. But a lot of strange things have been threatening my nation so-."

"It's possible." He answered. "But just so I don't disappoint you: I don't remember a lot about who I am or where I came from. That's a puzzle I'm piecing together all on my own."

"So it's possible but neither one of us is positive about it."

He nodded.

She nodded back, petting him and brushing his quills back. "Honestly I was worried about coming here because I had a feeling something awful would happen if Blaze or I came into contact with you. Is that strange?"

"Depends on your definition of awful. I've seen a lot of awful things, but-."

"If it concerns Soleanna, please tell me." Her stomach started burning, voice turning into a whisper. "If it's Iblis then I've got it under control. I can quell Iblis' flames... Whatever is going to happen in 3 days I'm going to prevent at any cost... I can promise you that."

Silver pouted. This human girl reminded him of Blaze trying to quell her own flames. "Y-You know... Maybe I can help. I mean I've helped Blaze control her fire powers so-!"

"I'm nothing like Blaze!" Elise yelled in a whisper. "I can see where we'd be similar but personality wise we're nothing alike. I realize I'm still a coward compared to her. I can discuss trade deals and reject as many suitors as I need to but I can't even talk to-!" She raised her fist, about to slam it onto the bench when Silver caught her hand using psychokinesis and forced it into his own, examining her singed gloves.

Her hand smelled like Blaze, meaning she had to have grabbed her roughly at one point and got burnt in the process. "You shouldn't hurt your hands." He released her hand from the psychokinetic hold. "I apologize on Blaze's behalf. She's actually really friendly when you get to know her!"

Elise took her hand back, leaning her head against a wall and pouting. "Seems like you've gotten past all the pushy and arrogant parts."

"Exactly. After that, she's not so bad. That's why I worry about her a lot."

She smiled once, but then returned to being pouty. "I wish I could be stronger in that aspect. I only seem to be that aggressive in formal settings but not when it's an actual emergency. I just hate feeling like this. I don't want to be some hopeless victim all my life!" she whisper-yelled. "I just want everything to go back to normal before Iblis destroyed everything!"

"W-Well that's just it! He hasn't destroyed everything yet so that's why you need to be optimistic!" he said. "There's still plenty of time to learn how to be strong in a fight. But everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. Maybe you're more of a commander type instead of a soldier! Did you ever think of it like that?"

She looked back at him and started rubbing his quills again. "Well I do seem to be coming across a lot of hedgehogs with unusual abilities lately." A toothy smile took over his face, snorting a bit like a piglet and seeing and hearing that made the burning feeling in her stomach subside.

Though the thought of something potentially awful happening still lingered, she couldn't cry no matter the circumstance. And despite just meeting him she didn't want this white hedgehog to cry either.

...

A sophisticated light show that was their fight with one another had turned into something more primal, monstrous and something that left either one of them in shambles – not physically dead but emotionally drained and mentally exhausted enough to feel dead. Each of them pounced and by moonlight the brawl ensued with tufts of fur being ripped out, claws scratching into skin and causing one another to bleed, attempts at biting one another having failed. The two of them had exhausted themselves, barely standing with only a blue hedgehog standing in between them preventing either party from killing the other off.

Said blue hedgehog walked to the cat, helping her stand on two feet. "Blaze, you really did a number on him but-."

"Sonic, not now..." Blaze hissed as she hit the ground with a first accompanied by embers.

Shadow shrugged, cuts and bruises healing up before their eyes. He smirked. "If we had met earlier maybe we wouldn't have acted like this. But this was still some good exercise. So in that respect I'm not regretting this decision entirely."

Blaze's wounds were still visible, lavender fur blue in some places and a spot of blood on her muzzle. "If we did meet earlier I could've prevented Silver from joining you. But I wasn't supposed to come here..." she grunted. "I was never apart of Mephiles' plan. He planned on bringing Silver here anyway..."

The black hedgehog walked up to Blaze. "Do you have any idea where Mephiles is right now?"

She shook her head. "Just make sure he never gets in contact with Silver again."

"I'm planning on it." he shot a look at Sonic. "Get the girl help. Make sure she doesn't pass out. I'm going to need to go back and attend to Princess Elise."

Sonic found himself awkwardly nodding which was out of character for him, supporting Blaze with his left arm and making sure she was still conscious while Shadow walked off.

The lone hedgehog walked back to the hotel, exhausted mentally, emotionally and physically. What a rough and hectic day – a hedgehog from another dimension, his best friend the cat who liked to cause trouble, a princess who needed her emotions constantly monitored and his fellow agent losing her mind over the hedgehog from another dimension and forgetting her actual job on this island...

And then a pink blur bumped into him, hugging him tightly with both arms.

"I-I'm sorry I couldn't keep up! I got distracted was all! But I promise it's nothing!" Amy apologized, most likely thinking she was hugging her precious Sonic only for Shadow to clear his throat making her back away instantly.

"If you're looking for Sonic, he's back there with that cat..."

Amy blushed. "I'm really sorry Shadow. I didn't mean to bump into you like that honest!"

"It's no big deal, really." either due to exhaustion or just being in proximity of Amy, Shadow felt something like a smile on his face. "You should probably go meet up with them."

"Yeah... Although..." she was hesitant. Not unusual for the pink hedgehog to have shy body language on occasion but today was full of strange things. "Um... I hope I don't come off as weird for saying this but: is Silver doing okay?"

 _It always comes back to Silver... No one ever worries about SHADOW, it's always Silver!_ He couldn't help but get a slight laugh and ounce of pain from that. "Well Silver is currently a temporary member of Team Dark, so he'll be fine and I'll be keeping a close eye on him. What makes you so worried about him?"

"I-It's nothing really!" she dusted off her dress even though it wasn't dirty in the slightest. "I mean, what kind of person would I be if I wasn't concerned about others being okay? You know how he is!"

Shadow grumbled just thinking about it, desperately wanting to collapse onto a nice hotel bed and sleep for a week. "Don't I know that... Everyone can stop worrying about Silver so much. Really, it's getting on my nerves!"

"Well that's no way to talk about him! He's just a kid! You should be nicer to him!" Amy scolded. "How can you not be as concerned as everyone else?"

"I'm busy with work." he thought back at how Rouge tried to encourage him to try getting to know Silver herself. Suggesting the idea when he was wide awake was fine. Suggesting the idea when he wanted to collapse on a nice, comfy bed was something entirely different.

"Just... stay safe, okay Shadow?" she looked particularly concerned about something, though seemed unwilling to say what about. "You know the world isn't that safe anymore..."

 _Anymore? You're talking as though something already happened._ "Amy what are you talking about?"

He thought about Silver and Blaze saying that they had a three day deadline before Iblis destroyed the world. But even then, Elise was completely calm. No reason to worry about the girl crying any time soon – she'd be perfectly save with two hedgehogs with powers and a bat with big ears and a robot on a boat docked at one of the ports looking over information. Team Dark was strong enough on their own.

"Amy, be straight with me. What are you talking about?"

But the girl shook her head in 'no'. "It's still difficult to talk about..."

"WHAT is?" he demanded.

"... Since Sonic... you know..."

"Amy, if you need Sonic he's over there" Shadow pointed in Sonic's direction with one hand and grabbed her by the arm with the other. "You should hurry. He needs to get that cat some help."

"What? That... that can't be, can it?"

"Amy, you're kidding me..."

No... Sonic can't be here, Sonic is... He has been de-!"

The door opened, a bat strutting out of the entrance with a human girl standing behind her. She glared at Shadow, head tilted and giving him a glare he knew too well – the kind she gave him when she knew he was enjoying his work a little too much.

"Are you about done Shadow?" she asked, cutting off Amy and causing the pink hedgehog to shake her head in confusion. "We do have a princess that needs to be escorted back to her castle."

Elise walked out of the door, bowing her head politely and looking at Amy with concern. "I apologize for my actions earlier. It was rude of me to walk out on you and Sonic like that. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me, Amy." she apologized.

"Oh Elise! Well, it's fine but you need to be more careful!" Amy scolded. "You have no idea how worried Sonic and I were!"

That sudden shift in Amy woke Shadow up. _First you were talking about Sonic as though he were dead and now you're talking about him like he's alive?_ He had to question her about it but he couldn't think over the sound of Amy arguing with Elise over how she shouldn't have run off with Blaze in the first place and should've stuck with Sonic for her own good – the princess failing to defend herself and submitting with more statements along the lines of 'I'm sorry' and 'I won't do it again unless it's a real emergency'.

Rouge grabbed his hand, half-whispering and giving him a playful wink. "Silver went upstairs. You look like you're about to faint yourself. Got a good workout?"

"I did but..." no, he needed to make sure he wasn't in public. "I'll explain it upstairs."

"Maybe after you have a nice nap?"

"No, it's important." he urged Rouge to go on ahead, turning to Amy. "Amy, can I trust you to take Princess Elise back home?"

Amy nodded – back to her normal self he noticed. "Sure. We'll go find Sonic and then we'll escort her back to the castle! Safety in numbers! But even if Sonic ran off again I think I could handle Eggman on my own."

"Don't jinx yourself." Shadow shook Amy's hand firmly. "Be careful. Elise is no ordinary girl. Remember she's a princess. If she doesn't get back in that castle at a reasonable hour the whole country might enter a state of panic."

Clearly Elise didn't want to think of it that way, rolling her eyes and trying not to make her bitterness apparent. She resigned herself, waving goodbye to Silver who was watching her through the window of the hotel room on the second floor with a feint smile on her face.

Amy looked up at her. "You ready to go, Elise?"

Elise nodded. "Hope we find Sonic soon."

Off they went, letting Rouge drag Shadow off into the hotel room. If things went well they would meet Elise at Soleanna Castle tomorrow. If things went well Shadow would get a good night's sleep and he could sleep in peace knowing that Amy was capable of defending the princess. But there was more than just babysitting Elise that bothered Shadow. Several things swam through his brain preventing the exhausted hedgehog from falling asleep that night.

 _A hedgehog from another dimension who thinks he can play hero and save the world._

 _Amy talking about Sonic as though he were dead and saying she didn't want to bother him._

 _Blaze, who has her own flames similar to Princess Elise and who states Mephiles enticed Silver to come to this world. What a vile creature..._

 **Chapter 9 end**


	10. Chapter 9: The Fall of Normality

**Before I forget: I thought I would explain the "Shaun" thing from previous chapters!**

 **The whole "Shaun" thing comes from a concept that makes sense if you were to think about the fanfic as a video game or make a fan-game version of Silver Edition (and if you did, I would be both flattered and afraid but you have my full permission if you truly wanted to attempt that and make it a full fledged game with more than my crappy fanfic could provide). Mephiles wouldn't directly reveal his name to the player (he's Mephiles to us just because we have to rely on the knowledge of the 06 SEGA gave us which makes it obvious who he is to us fans despite this fic being an attempt at a reboot).**

 **Mephiles using a false name (no matter how lame or amazing it was) would be decided by the player. I imagine from a game-design stand point you would have to insert a name before starting the game or when prompted to come up with a name for a cut scene or event similar to how you name your key blade in the first Kingdom Hearts or how you name Asriel's friend (the friend's canon name being Chara btw) in Undertale. From a game design perspective he would also have a default name should the player not pick one for him – and that's how we get 'Shaun': because fanfic is a non-interactive medium he just picks the first thing that pops into his head regardless of how it sounds (though if you did truly want to make this fic into a fan game: please pick a better name than Shaun).**

 **The name 'Shaun' for Mephiles was also a running gag that made me laugh and cringe when I was actively doing let's plays with my partner. He kept calling Mephiles by any other name besides Mephiles until we see his cool icy-looking design. The point of that gag was him taking jabs at Mephiles' other form basically being a recolored Shadow like how some 'OCS' are basically an existing character that's been recolored or given a small accessory to make them "original". It was a clever gag, but he overused it. But to sort of remember my let's play days I decided to shove the 'Shaun' thing in there as an easter egg.**

 **But enough of my crud. Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 10: The Fall of Normality**

A grassy hilltop. A clear blue sky. A gentle wind. He was flying around using his psychokinesis and then he landed gently on the ground, a human collapsing on her hands and knees once she landed.

Elise... For some reason she was here and she was smiling at him as she lay down in the grass. "I've never flown before. Not like that."

He laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head and avoiding her gaze.

"You have a unique gift. You're able to do so many incredible things with it! You have a power a lot of people can only dream of. It's certainly something to be envied."

"I've always been able to do it. It's just second nature to me really."

"You say that but you don't realize the magnitude of such power."

"I'm naive, I know." he felt himself frown. "A lot of people have told me I'm naive."

"Well, you are..." she urged him to sit down beside her. "... _but_ just because you're naive now doesn't mean there isn't room to grow."

He didn't sit down instead standing up and looking at clouds far off in the distance and scratching his nose. "I know. You tell me that all the time."

"Quit trying to be cool and lay down with me."

"I'm not trying to be cool, I'm-."

"Relax a little!" she commanded, giving a playful pout that quickly faded into laughter.

And though he had no intention of doing so originally, he resigned himself and sat down;stretched a bit before laying back with his hands behind his head.

She mused. "That's more like it. It's not often we get time away from the castle. The only times we do are times like these..." her smile turned neutral, making the hedgehog concerned.

"Are you going to be okay Princess?"

"You know me; anything having to do with the Solaris Project worries me. I still haven't visited that lab since the incident..."

"If the time ever comes though you may end up having to go back there anyway." Silver said, reaching his right hand out to her and pressing a single finger against her nose. "I hope I can be there should something like that ever happen. You shouldn't have to go through that alone."

She pressed her finger against his nose in-turn. "I hope so too."

Silver squeaked. "I'm really glad we're friends."

Elise nodded. "I'm happy we're friends too."

 _Friends..._ He kept dwelling on that word until he was fully conscious again.

Silver had fallen asleep as soon as he hit the twin-sized bed arranged for him. While he feared going to sleep back in Blaze's dimension he found he had no trouble sleeping here – his first dream being a peaceful one. He had no idea how long he managed to sleep for but regardless of the amount of hours it was a deep and restful sleep and he wasn't going back anytime soon.

He looked up blankly at the ceiling under the warm sheets. It was finally sinking in...

"I'm actually here..." he smiled weakly. "I'm actually living in this dimension and everything is really real!"

He breathed in as much oxygen as he could, fully accepting he was here, living in this world in this reality. He felt so alive in that instant. He turned to his shadow that appeared on the wall – his normal shadow with it's leaf-shaped quills sticking out the most.

He smiled at it. "I really hope I can save this world... Not just for mom and dad but for Blaze, Elise and Rouge too."

But his shadow did not respond with a clever quip nor did it peg him with questions or demands that he find Sonic in two days time. It was deadly silent and it felt lighter than it had before.

"Hey... Shadow, you there?" he whisper-yelled. "Shadow? Shadow-person? Shaun? SHAUN?!"

No response, his shadow unwavering, moving with his every movement and obeying everything the body it was attached to did so long as there was light to keep it alive.

 _He's gone? So soon? It feels like I just got here and I only have two days to save the world now... I didn't even get his real name!_

He wanted to kick himself but didn't think using psychokinesis on his boots to do so was very wise. He got up, opening the window of the room and feeling a rush of cold that made him shiver.

He thought of his dream of Elise... He wondered what their past was – if they actually knew each other or if that dream were simply a dream based on his experience today. He would've liked to see her again, talk about her kingdom, travel with her to that grassy hill and have a picnic together. Though he knew now wasn't the time to rest.

"You awake, Sterling?" Rouge stirred, eyes barely open. "Close the window sweetie, you're going to freeze."

"S-Sorry Rouge. I just wanted to get a better view of the stars and the moon. It's gorgeous out!" and while it was true that there were similar starry skies in Blaze's dimension, the constellations that rode across the sky in Soleanna were truly unique.

"Can't sleep?"

He shook his head in 'no' while smiling. "Do you wanna look at the stars together?"

"Are you asking me out on a date~?" she teased though failed to get the reaction she wanted out of him.

"I'm asking if you wanna see the stars! I've never seen them before and I can use the company if you're awake!"

"Hmm~ I guess I can spare a few minutes. I much prefer a night sky full of stars over a blazing hot sun." She crawled out of bed, careful not to disturb Shadow but also surprised to find a mess of gemstones now littering the bed, causing her to giggle and pulling the silk bag from between her breasts – bag otherwise empty save for something that felt like metal that was clinging to cardboard.

"Rouge, what's taking so long?" Silver asked, jumping like a child on a sugar rush.

She got off of the bed and joined him by the window, bag in her hand and hidden behind her back. "Shadow's going to wake up thinking I robbed a jewelry store in the middle of the night~."

 _Cool! Sounds like she liked the gemstones!_ Silver grabbed Rouge by the arm, raising the both of them off the ground with his psychokinesis and flying them to the roof despite her objections.

Once they landed she put her hands on her hips and looked at him, very upset. "You didn't have to do that. I have wings after all. I wouldn't want you to strain yourself over lil ol' me."

Then and there it had just occurred to him that he hadn't seen Rouge fly once.

But as quickly as she got upset, she didn't exactly regret her decision in deciding to stargaze with Silver, sitting on the edge of the roof in awe of the constellations. She laughed under her breath.

"Something the matter?" Silver asked.

"Just one thing on my mind." she stretched her arms and her wings, expanding the latter as far as they could go. "You really do remind me of Shadow. On his good days you two aren't all that different. It's too bad you've only seen him when he's angry or occupied with work."

"Oh... Shadow again?"

"Well I heard you calling for him in your sleep so-."

 _Crap..._ He made something up: "Oh... Well, I just had a bad dream I guess. I didn't realize I was talking in my sleep. Sorry if I bothered you."

"Shady wasn't exactly easy to put to bed earlier, so you talking in your sleep is no skin off my nose."

He sat down next to her on the edge of the roof feeling like he managed to get away with another lie. "I'm really glad I could stick with you guys, especially you putting me up here. You really didn't have to!" and of course he was mostly referring to the bat who wrapped a wing around him and pulled him in closer.

"I wasn't going to let you sleep on the streets. What heartless person would do that to someone as good and well-behaved as you? I see why Blaze wants to take you home so bad~. Kitten probably wants you all to herself to keep her warm at night~." Rouge teased, watching Silver attempt to curl up into a ball. "Oh don't be so shy! I can tell just by looking that she's really active at night anyway!"

Contemplating whether or not that was supposed to be some sort of innuendo only made him want to curl up into a ball and roll off the edge of the roof but the wing cradling him prevented him from doing so.

After a sad sigh she popped the question: "Do you have any clues on your mom?"

He looked away from her, feeling young and naive. "That pink hedgehog from earlier – the one standing next to Elise... Who was she?"

"Amy Rose. Seems like a nice kid but I haven't spoken to her much personally – or at least not much one on one."

 _Mom had a pair of gold bracelets... And looking back at my memories I think mom really liked the color pink. But why can't I remember a face? I don't even know my own mom's name! And that shadow never told me!_

Silver wanted Rouge to slap him wit her wing because of how stupid he was – letting valuable information slip past him and not being more assertive and aggressive regarding the information he so desperately needed! If his parents were so important to the fall of Soleanna knowing their names would've been USEFUL!

"I'm actually really afraid of figuring out who my mom is." Silver sighed.

Rouge's interest was peaked though her ears tilted downward.

"I think she died way back when I was younger. So no matter who she is..." he shook, abstract images flashing before his eyes in an order he didn't want to piece together. "In my memories she was already gone! I was left alone with HIM!"

"You don't think Shadow did anything terrible do you?" and if Silver did, she would kick Shadow in his sleep. Silver never really replied, just sort of shook his head left and right while the rest of his body shook with him. Poor thing had to be scared out of his mind.

"Based on what little memories I have, my mom died and my so-called dad only saw me as a burden."

For that Rouge would kick Shadow in his sleep regardless. Time and space were complex things and for someone like Silver who was an inhabitant between dimensions it was even more headache inducing yet at the same time so intriguing that she couldn't just leave it alone.

"Well I don't have much experience with traveling through time and space but..." she hesitated to ask just due to his age. How would he even know where he would be at this point in time, where he would be living, so on and so forth. Who's the say he didn't travel too far back in this dimension's timeline or too far into the future? "No... Never mind... I don't really think it's my place."

Silver smiled pathetically. "I'm sorry I got you all wrapped up in this."

"Don't talk about yourself like that. I'm involved because I want to be – regardless of how complex it is." she pet his leaf-shaped quills. "So for now it looks like you have two leads for finding your mom. The first came from Blaze. The second is Amy."

 _Blaze did say she found someone who knows who I am. But now Blaze is probably so angry with me she might not tell me!_

He thought about the blurry memories of his mom. No name. No face. No nicknames. No traits or particular way of speaking that made her stand out. The only consistent thing across his shattered memories of her were a pair of gold bracelets like his own and the color pink. The fact she seemed kind and loving toward her own son was irrelevant – that's what a normal mom was supposed to do.

"Do you know what happened to Elise or Blaze?"

"Elise got home safe and sound thanks to Amy and Sonic."

He tried not to sweat bullets when hearing that name. Oh how his shadow pegged him for information on this Sonic character. How badly his shadow wanted to get the two of them to meet! He hadn't had one encounter with this Sonic person and already he was intimidated. And while he had been partially ignoring the shadow that once took shelter in his shade when it came to finding this person, he did want to know more about him and about his relationship with Blaze, their adventures together!

"What are Sonic and Amy like?" he asked abruptly. "I keep hearing 'Sonic this' and 'Sonic that' but I don't know anything about him!"

Rouge sighed, thinking of young love and how it messed with your mind. "Oh don't worry your head off. He won't try stealing Blaze from you. If anything he might be after the princess."

Silver cringed, feeling defensive about Elise and having no idea why. "Why would she ever want a hedgehog?! What would make you even say that?!"

"I'm kidding." she was, but seeing Silver's innocent reaction over such an absurd idea got a rise out of her. "Well, Sonic isn't really the type to take girls too seriously so no evidence toward the theory of Sonic being your dad there. Amy is certainly interested but he treats her as more of a friend – it's a very one-sided love. Poor girl~." Rouge puffed out her chest and crossed her arm, looking hurt though Silver couldn't tell why. She didn't really have a reason to be (not that Silver could see anyway).

"And what about Amy?"

"Very young, but very sweet girl. Despite her looks she's incredibly strong so I advise you not to get on her bad side. From what I was told while you were upstairs she can run almost as fast as Sonic now – but she's had her strength for the longest. Never judge a girl by her looks, Sterling."

 _Don't I know that._

"Besides that I can't really tell you much. I don't speak with her too often. The few times I do, it just sort of happens due to work or coincidence – nothing I can control." Rouge explained. "If it helps and if she's still involved with Elise, I suppose we could get a chance to talk with her. All depends on what my work demands of me when the sun comes up."

Silver adjusted himself to sit up normally without curling up into a ball of embarrassed fluff and quills. "That agent stuff seems pretty cool. You and Shadow really pull off the whole agent thing! You could be comic book heroes or something!"

"Oh you." Rouge pressed a finger against the tip of his nose. "It's a field you need to meet a lot of qualifications for. The only reason I got this job is because of..." she paused, contemplating whether or not to tell Silver of her _actual_ first-choice career as a jewel thief. Normally she wouldn't have had a second thought about bragging about all of the beautiful stones and precious metals in her collection but for some reason he seemed too wide-eyed and innocent.

"Yeah? You were saying?"

She yawned in a cute and distracting sort of way. "Well, Shadow and I have these jobs due to special circumstances. That's all it is."

Not bothering to dig deeper into Rouge's past, the white hedgehog looked up at the sky, spotting Soleanna Castle off in the distance thinking about Blaze. How he wanted to see that lavender cat again, pretend like they never had an argument so they could work toward saving this world together. Mission aside he still missed the Blaze he knew back home. It hurt not having her around.

Leaning against Rouge's shoulder without realizing it he found himself drifting off in his imagination, thinking of his feline friend and living with her in a series of visions from a past, present or future that may or may not have happened...

…

She was subjected to complete darkness save for a white light in the distance – an open door with unfamiliar silhouettes walking left and right. The rhythmic beeps and hums of machinery and the sound of someone breathing. Someone's warmth. She recalled Silver at times like this. She watched him sleep and when the nightmares hit him the hardest she broke every rule when it came to how a princess should interact with her knight.

But now in an unfamiliar kingdom she was a woman without rank, no power, no title and while she certainly had the power to back it up there was the weak monarch who ruled this kingdom standing in the way. Just thinking about that girl and her wavering determination upset her.

Her head hurt.

More beeping.

Sillhouettes walking through the door to check up on her in her hazy state that drifted between staying consciousness and going under again, recalling how she could've ended up this way. Gods she didn't even know how she ended up in such a powerless state of feeling heavy and dazed in the dark.

"Princess Elise you really must return to your room! You'll make yourself sick from stress!"

All Blaze heard was a grunt coming from the blurred figure next to her – someone sleeping beside her and nothing more than a head and pair of arms.

"Princess, please! We have our best doctors on staff to-."

"I. Am. Fine." Elise's voice sounding stern.

"And your hands!"

"My hands are fine. Nothing some light medication and bandages can't fix. I'll just hide them under my gloves. And I'm not leaving this room – I want to make sure my _friend_ is alright."

"Princess..."

"She is my guest and of noble rank. Just because she is a foreigner does not mean she can't be respected. It is my duty to watch over my people whether they be native or visitors from other lands. Now, if you would kindly leave..."

The silhouette that tried to reason with the girl exited the room.

Blaze didn't have any words, nor could she lift her torso... _Bound with no memory of how I got here. Terrific. As interesting as that was to see I don't want to stand idly by and-._

Her head wanted to burst, a haze holding her brain hostage by blurring her vision and distorting every noise that filled the room. A voice in her head whispering sweet nothings of despair to her.

 _If I don't get stronger soon we're going to miss that deadline. Just two more days and supposedly Sonic will destroy the world. It really can't be...It's either a misunderstanding or an outright deception: Sonic can't destroy the world! He lacks the power to and he's just as clueless as everyone else unless Elise gave him a briefing of some sort._

She wondered where that blue hedgehog was now.

She wondered if he would get along with Silver.

And the more she thought about it the more the memories of what happened came back. He refused to leave her no matter he objections he wanted their melee to be over. He cut in whenever he could only to get kicked aside. How he tried to pull them apart and make sure she was still standing... It wasn't like him. Of course he was nice, he wouldn't have wanted to see a friend die but even then...

 _That wasn't really the Sonic I know, was it? Does that mean the world as a whole is...? No... It can't... I must be crazy... I might need more sleep..._

…

Shadow was in a state of near consciousness where he realized he was dreaming and in his dream he was laying down in what he only assumed he was a grave or a shallow hole he dug himself. Maria standing over him and looking down at him with an unusually emotionless look that wasn't the Maria he knew at all.

Not remembering what lead up to this point in his dreams he had no context for the white, blurry object Maria forced into the hedgehog's arms making him wrap his arms around it in a certain way while he lay there unable to fight back or do anything about it.

Shadow sat up, the blurry object in his arms. "Maria, what's going on? I don't understand what you're trying to tell me."

Maria sat beside him quietly, cold and unmoving as her robotic stare drilled dread into him.

"Have I failed you somehow? Did I do anything wrong? How have I disappointed you, Maria? I won't understand if you don't tell me!"

Again, Maria said nothing which made his mind spiral down into instant depression, thinking about how she should've gotten the second chance at life he currently had – how his life was being wasted and how she could've lived the normal life she wanted.

"Say something Maria... I can't stand you being silent." he still demanded, holding this object censored by his dreams. "Tell me what you want..."

"You have a job to do. That's all I really needed to say."

He forced himself to wake up, feeling something in his arms but what it was was disappointing...

He growled under his breath, looking at just how content Rouge looked as she hugged a certain white hedgehog from behind and that white hedgehog was wedged in between the pair when he was supposed to be sleeping in a separate bed four feet away!

No doubt this was Rouge's doing.

He sat himself up with Silver's arms still wrapped around his stomach as he checked his communicator for any messages or updates from GUN, the princess or otherwise.

Only a message from Omega as well as one from the princess.

He checked Omega's message:

 _Reporting to Agent Shadow:_

 _Objective: collect information on one Mephiles the Dark in the nearby desert zone then return to home base on Pier 5. Will relay information._

 _Mephiles the Dark is one half of the being known as Solaris. The other half of Solaris is Iblis. If Mephiles the Dark and Iblis fuse they will become Solaris and recreate a disaster similar to the Day of Disaster 10 years ago. The Scepter of Darkness used to seal Mephiles originally may no longer be powerful enough to hold him. Likelihood of finding something else to contain Mephiles: 10%._

 _I have relayed the same information to GUN. Agent Rouge will receive the same update._

 _Location: Currently on the ship docked at Pier 5 as instructed._

 _Will enter stand-by mode after the conclusion of this message._

 _I am Omega._

He didn't need to hear the rest as Omega's outros for his messages were always the same. "I am Omega. I am the ultimate unit. Eggman must be eliminated." and other such things a robot would say. Omega's consistency was something Shadow liked about that giant hunk of metal.

Stretching his arms and resting a hand on Rouge's head (not realizing he was rubbing her ears) he checked the message from the princess. He had left a communicator in her room when he realized she would be hard to handle and after ordering Rouge to leave to pursue Silver.

The message played:

 _Agent Shadow, I would first like to thank you for giving me this device. I was going to ask you how we could keep in contact should we be separated but I suppose you read my mind. I appreciate that. Second I need to give you and Silver some important information regarding Blaze._

Elise sighed.

 _I don't know what's going on. I don't know what caused it but she's not in a good place right now. Yesterday was so hap-hazzard that I'm surprised I haven't been hallucinating in some tomb in the desert. Feels... It feels almost like a dream... Like nothing is actually happening – like this is all some script we're all playing some part of. I know it's strange... But this has to do with Silver coming to this world, I know it. And Blaze too..._

He wished she would get on with the point – it was okay for a girl her age to have feelings but he was no therapist and his time was too valuable to get invested in some girl's life story!

 _After you went upstairs with Agent Rouge, Amy and I went to find Sonic and Blaze was incapacitated. So arranging for Amy to carry Blaze we all ran to the castle and I summoned a doctor to check her. She seems physically healthy but something must've happened that caused her to enter a persistant vegetative state. You wouldn't have guessed something like this would happen to her! She was perfectly fine and I know you've had your quarrels but all of you are very strong considering...Ugh, I just feel helpless... According to the physician she's completely normal but she can't wake up. I've considered taking the advice of one of my ladies in waiting which was to have her be checked at a local hospital but something tells me that's not right! She needs to stay here! Something bad is going to happen if anyone else watches her but me._

While they did nearly try to kill each other the night before over what seemed like a stupid issue in hindsight, both of them suffered a good amount of abuse from the other. He couldn't have been completely responsible. Mephiles's words began ringing in his ears again...

"With interest, huh? So you plan on taking out everyone else first, is that it?" he found himself gripping Rouge's fur hard enough to stir her awake which got him a nice bite to the hand. "Was that really necessary, Rouge?"

Rouge looked at him obviously upset that her beauty rest was disturbed, one hand on Shadow's wrist and the other still wrapped around Silver. "The fact you nearly ripped my fur out aside, do we have any work today?"

"I was checking just that." he resumed the message.

 _I know Silver isn't going to be happy if he hears about this, so I'll leave it up to you as to whether or not he should know. But there's one more thing I felt I should say and that is..._

She inhaled and exhaled calmly.

 _I want to go to my father's old lab..._

 **Chapter end**


End file.
